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TRAINING A STAFF 



TRAINING A STAFF 

A Manual for 

Young Men's Christian Association 

Executives 

PAUL SUPER 

Secretary for Training, Personnel Bureau, 
International Committee of Young Men's Christian Associations 




ASSOCIATION PRESS 

New York: 347 Madison Avenue 
1920 



JSVmod 



Copyright, 1920, by 

The International Committee of 

Young Men's Christian Associations 



©CI.A604684 



a.* * i 



TO MY WIFE 

Aid and Companion in 

Many an Enterprise 

of Study 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction ix 

PART I 

Processes 

The fourteen elements in the local training program 

CHAPTER 

I. A Varied Experience 3 

How can our younger secretaries be given that varied ex- 
perience which will result in their largest growth and 
development? 

II. Projects 16 

How can our secretaries-in-training secure educational 
values — growth — from performing these assigned tasks 
that make up a varied experience? 

III. Class-Room Work 50 

What method or type of class-room work will produce the 
best results in preparing young secretaries for immediate 
and future executive leadership? What should be the 
content of the course of study? 

IV. Class-Room Work (Continued) 74 

V. Coaching: The UndersTudy Relation 95 

What coaching by senior secretaries is necessary and help- 
ful in the training process? 

VI. Reading and Study 121 

How can reading and study be made to contribute to pro- 
fessional growth? 

VII. Staff Conferences 141 

How may staff conferences be make an effective part of 
the process of training Association secretaries? 

VIII. Departmental Studies 158 

What sort of theses or reports is it profitable to have 
junior secretaries prepare? How should such work be 
directed? 

IX. Inspection Trips 163 

What inspection trips should be included in a secretary's 
training? How may they be given large educational 
value? 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

X. Special Helps from Local Experts 179 

How can the Association avail itself of local talent in 
supplying specialized instruction needed along certain 
lines? 

XI. Relations to City Institutions 183 

To what institutions should young secretaries be related 
as part of their training? What are the training values 
growing out of these relationships? 

XII. University Relations 192 

What arrangements can be made whereby our secretaries 
may take courses in nearby colleges and universities? 

XIII. Association Summer Schools 206 

What arrangements in regard to processes, equipment, 
curriculum, and teachers will make the summer schools 
contribute most in the training of secretaries? 

XIV. Conventions and Conferences 230 

What convention procedure will make the sessions count 
in the training of secretaries? 

XV. A New Man's First Week 236 

How can a new secretary's first week with an Association 
be so organized as to get him properly started and give 
him a good impression of the Association and its leadership? 

PART II 

Reasons 

The theories underlying the processes 241 

PART in 
The Content of the Secretaryship 267 

APPENDICES 

Appendix A. A National Training Policy for China 287 

Appendix B. An Examination in Association Progress and Principles 294 

Appendix C. Suggestive Project Study Outline 296 

Appendix D. A Suggested Technical Library for a Y M C A 

Secretary 298 



INTRODUCTION 

i. The Awakening in Regard to Personnel 

An official of the Western Electric Company said a few 
years ago that for many years industry has centered its atten- 
tion upon improving products, plant, and processes, but that 
recently it had come to realize that more vital than any of 
these is that newly recognized factor in industry, personnel. 
Man is now regarded as the element most worthy of careful 
attention as the central problem in production. The convic- 
tion that this is so was becoming established just before the 
Great War, and many of the large corporations of the country 
were engaging employment or personnel managers ; the War 
itself, however, gave the personnel movement a great impulse, 
so that now one meets evidence of the new emphasis in indus- 
try on every hand. The demand for personnel experts has 
so grown that some of the large universities are now conduct- 
ing courses to train men for this special service of recruiting, 
selecting, placing, training, and holding employes ; and the 
supply of such experts is far from equal to the demand. Im- 
portant conventions and conferences are being held every 
year for interchange of experience in these matters, and highly 
trained scientists are devoting their time to the discovery of 
the principles that must guide practice in matters of personnel. 

Many of the heads of large business operations have ex- 
pressed themselves on this subject. "Take away our factories," 
Andrew Carnegie is quoted as having said, "take away our 
trade, our avenues of transportation, our money, but leave me 
just one thing — my organization of men, and in four years I 
will reestablish myself." 

Says Charles M. Schwab, "The biggest asset of the Bethle- 
hem Steel Company is not its vast plants, its mines, its ma- 
chinery, or any of its material possessions ; it is its organization 
of men." 

ix 



x INTRODUCTION 

Ir is a difficult thing to say which phase of the problem of 
personnel is most important — choosing, training, placing, or 
retaining; it is certain, however, that the training problem is 
of central importance. Julius Kruttschnitt, head of the South- 
ern Pacific Railroad, once wrote, "The test of an effective 
organization is that it shall be self-perpetuating" ; this self-per- 
petuation is made possible by the training of the men in the 
line of promotion. 

"Train your men in every department," says George M. 
Basford, an engineering expert. "This cannot be made too 
emphatic. You will fail in your mission in life if you do not. 
You will leave a priceless legacy in the form of an organiza- 
tion replete with human efficiency and, therefore, human hap- 
piness, if you do. The men in high authority today will leave 
the legacy of greatest value to the future if they properly at- 
tend to the training of the recruits coming into the ranks." 

This deep conviction of industrial leaders is paralleled 
among the leaders in the Young Men's Christian Association. 
The "Stone Commission Report" of 191 5 said, "Many 
leaders continue to feel that the employed officer is still the 
most pressing problem of the present time." And S. Wirt 
Wiley, general secretary of the Minneapolis Association, begins 
his recent widely-read monograph on developing a staff with 
these striking paragraphs: 

"The development of his staff is the great executive function 
of the secretary. Important as is his leadership with the 
Board of Directors and committee organization, it is his ability 
to develop and manage an employed staff that eventually de- 
termines his usefulness, for the very reason that even in the 
management of committees he must multiply himself through 
his associates. 

''The relative importance of this ability increases as the range 
of a secretary's responsibility enlarges and as his Association 
grows in size and complexity. It is more fundamental in the 
general and executive secretaries than in department heads. 
It is more important in the large city than in the small town 
Association. 

"The lack of this feature of executive ability in our depart- 



INTRODUCTION xi 

ment heads, executive and general secretaries is one of the 
most serious weaknesses in our organization." 

II. The Background of This Book 

The realization of the vital relation that the training of the 
local staff bears to the success and permanence of the Young 
Men's Christian Association has led to this effort to produce 
a manual on staff training. This book is the outgrowth of eight 
years of work on the subject of training secretaries. In 1912 
I accepted definite responsibility for the secretarial training of 
young college graduates recruited on the Fellowship Plan by 
C. K. Ober of the International Committee. I had then had 
eleven years' experience as a local secretary, but realized 
the necessity of much more specific training on my part in 
order to discharge faithfully my responsibility for the careers 
of these men. My endeavor to make up for my lack of pre- 
vious preparation for educational work led to my securing what 
might be called five contributions to my equipment, and these 
are the basis or background of this book. 

First, eight years of local and traveling experience, study, 
and experimentation in the training of a staff, with that as my 
sole responsibility during the second half of the period 
mentioned. 

Second, an extended study of how large corporations are 
training executives, including visits to the plants, interviews 
with the executives in charge, and study of the available ma- 
terials and literature. 

Third, an examination of some of the newer movements in 
the training of engineers in technical colleges, suggested by the 
analogy of the secretary as a social engineer and my own ex- 
perience as an engineering student twenty odd years ago. This 
examination I found highly rewarding. It led to personal con- 
tact with some of the important developments in professional 
education. 

Fourth, a faithful study of the literature of educational 
theory and teaching method, including visits to educational in- 
stitutions and interviews with educators and teachers working 



xii INTRODUCTION 

on such processes as cooperative education and project 
teaching. 

Fifth, visits to practically all the Associations in America, 
Canada, Japan, and China where the training of the staff is se- 
riously undertaken, and extended study of what has been done 
in our own movement here and in other lands along the line of 
secretarial training, including long conferences with scores of 
Association leaders and many of those most vitally concerned — 
the beginners themselves. 

III. The Essence of the Secretaryship 

Dr. Charles R. Mann of the Carnegie Foundation points out 
that education may proceed toward static information or 
toward dynamic ability. This latter phrase, dynamic ability, I 
take to be the essence of the secretaryship ; it is skill in doing 
things that need to be done. Fundamental theory and broad 
culture are essentials, but the secretary expresses himself pri- 
marily as a worker, and in his faculty for accomplishing things 
he stands or falls. His training, therefore, must be of a sort 
that will develop him on, the side of dynamic ability. Knowl- 
edge to him is a tool to help him do his work, and one acquires 
skill with a tool by using it. Hence in the training of secre- 
taries as presented in this book the central thing is experience. 

Diagrams of ideas are never fully satisfactory ; they always 
leave important considerations unrepresented ; yet the following 
diagram gives some idea of the central importance of the 
work experience and the relation of other elements of training 
to it. 



INTRODUCTION 



Xlll 



Summer 
School 




Reading 
and Study 



n 



Class 
Discussions 



WORK 
EXPERIENCE 

Projects 





I 



i Staff 
Conferences 



Coaching 



inferences 

and 
(pnventions 




Diagram showing the central importance of actual experience in the 
training scheme, the relation of all the other elements to it, and the 
unity of the whole training-center process when organized and con- 
ducted in harmony with this theory. 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

IV. The Relation of the Processes to the Work 
Experience 

This diagram is based on the idea that the getting of one's 
daily work well done is the main consideration. Around this 
chief essential are grouped four training processes that have a 
most intimate, immediate, and practical relation to the success- 
ful performance of one's duties — staff conference as to the 
task covering the what and how of the work, class discussion 
as to difficulties and underlying theory, reading and study for 
light and help, and coaching on the work in hand. These four 
processes are the indispensable essentials to a real training 
program. As they all relate most closely to the day's work, 
they are continuous processes as long as there is work in hand 
and grow in importance as the pressure of work increases. 
They are of most value in the busiest seasons; they are the 
sharpening of the sickle that furthers the harvest. The chap- 
ters devoted to these topics aim to produce conviction that the 
fall, winter, and spring months, the busiest seasons, are the 
time of the most profitable employment of these training 
processes. 

Not quite so closely connected with each man's present work, 
yet having a helpful relation to it, are four other training proc- 
esses — inspection trips, relations to other institutions in the 
city, studies of other departments of the Association, and con- 
ferences with experts in various lines of work. They are im- 
portant experiences, and should form part of the education of 
every secretary. They are, however, dispensable, and are 
therefore diagramed farther from the center. 

The third group, the outer circle, composed of attendance 
upon conferences and conventions, summer schools and courses 
in nearby colleges and universities, are also possible phases of 
local training having much value; but they do not correlate 
quite so closely with the work of the immediate present. 

These eleven processes relate not only to the central experi- 
ence, the purposeful tasks of each day, but also, in varying 
degrees, to each other. The lines radiating from "reading" 



INTRODUCTION xv 

indicate this connection in one instance. To draw in the rest 
would confuse the diagram, but similar lines should connect 
"coaching" and "inspection trips," for instance, and "reading 
and study" are hardly remote considerations in "university 
courses." The object of this illustration is not so much to 
indicate how these processes bear one upon another as to 
show how they all are intended to help in the work experience 
of each man. Where the training is conducted in the manner 
described in the first fifteen chapters, this will be the case. 

The work experience being thus vital, it is of great import- 
ance that it be organized so as to put the utmost educational 
value into it. Chapter I, on A Varied Experience, and Chapter 
II, on Project Teaching, introduce the reader to this problem 
and suggest a method. It is based on the now well accepted 
theory that the educational process must be one of activity on 
the part of the student, one that provides for his full self-ex- 
pression, and that produces a man able to attack and solve the 
problems of his profession, capable of independent thought, 
full of initiative, and resourceful in life's situations. ' 

V. Using the Association as a Training Center 

This full presentation of the local program of training is 
made because of four deeply rooted convictions : 

First, that the local Association is a tremendous training 
asset when so used. Over 400 American Associations employ 
a staff of four or more secretaries, and in most of these the 
methods here described can and should be used. 

Second, that one of the chief duties and functions of a gen- 
eral secretary is the training of men in the work of the 
Association. 

Third, that every man on every staff needs continuous train- 
ing all the days of his service, and that the training of every 
man on the staff should be organized and conducted according 
to a well-considered and adhered-to plan. 

Fourth, that the use of this training process is one of the 
very best ways of getting the regular work done ; training is by 
no means a duty added to the work of the general secretary, 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

but one of the accepted ways of getting all the activities of the 
Association well planned and executed. 

VI. . Values Resulting from Using These Plans 

In different cities where these plans have been presented and 
taught (not in lectures but by the discussion method) the men 
have been asked what benefits would accrue to the local As- 
sociation if they conducted staff training processes. Here is 
their composite answer of beneficial results. They say such 
training would: 

Encourage the younger men. 

Help get and hold a staff. 

Make the Association more efficient. 

Put the men on their toes. 

Dignify the secretaryship. 

Serve the community more effectively. 

Make friends for the Association. 

Get better results from the work. 

Supply men for vacancies. 

Promote team play. 

Stimulate trainers to master their subjects. 

Lead secretaries to embody what they teach. 

Raise the standing of the Association in the community. 

Lead men to think constructively. 

Stimulate the older secretaries. 

Enable the plant to run to capacity. 

Reach more people. 

Give the staff more time for thought. 

If these men in the field are right, then we have here a proc- 
ess that an Asociation can hardly afford to neglect, and one 
that many will seize with eagerness. The immediate result, of 
course, is the increased efficiency, satisfaction, and joy of the 
younger secretary, his greater contentment and wider outlook. 
The general secretary soon finds that, due to the increased 
efficiency of his junior staff, he has more time for the real 
leadership of the Association than had previously been the 
case. In a book by Henry F. Cope there occurs this striking 
sentence: "No man has the spirit of Jesus unless he has the 
educational spirit, the burning hope and desire that men should 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

come into the fullness of life." This is the ideal attitude of a 
general secretary toward his staff. What will a general secre- 
tary filled with the spirit of Jesus not do that the men on his 
staff may come into "fulness of life"? 

VII. Reconstructing the Assistant Secretaryship 

Where these plans are carried out, a new day will dawn 
for the assistant secretary. To many this position has been 
one of unrelieved drudgery, a killing grind with little inspira- 
tion or hopefulness in it. Here is a chance to reconstruct en- 
tirely the position of assistant, to knock the end out of the 
blind alley, to open up attractive avenues of expression and 
growth, and to indicate a real future. Jobs that have had 
little meaning can become positions to be eagerly accepted by 
young men looking for a way into a useful life work; the 
dull years that to some have actually served to stand between 
them and the real secretaryship become the very avenue lead- 
ing to it and the preparation for effective service therein. 
Paraphrasing the slogan of the War, "Make the world safe for 
democracy," perhaps this book may help to make the Associa- 
tion safe for assistant secretaries. The loss of good men 
through an unhappy experience during the first year of service 
has been a large and sad deduction from our ranks. The sav- 
ing of those of this group who are really fitted for our work 
is an undertaking of no small importance. May this book 
help to achieve it! 

VIII. Wider Applications 

While not much is made of the point in the body of the book, 
the principles and methods set forth here have wider applica- 
tion than the training of secretaries in the city Young Men's 
Christian Association, the real purpose for which the book is 
written. 

i. Volunteer workers: 

Many of the plans are equally applicable to the training of 
volunteer workers for all sorts of committee work. Portions 
of the matter on staff conferences, to mention one section, ap- 



xviii INTRODUCTION 

ply to committee meetings; and coaching is a process used in 
all training of volunteer workers. 

2. Bible-class leaders : 

The whole process of group-discussion, the subject of the 
third and fourth chapters, applies in full to the leading of 
Bible discussion groups, in which, indeed, much of this matter 
was developed by Harrison S. Elliott. 

3. Leaders of boys' clubs: 

Boys' secretaries have seen that these plans will serve them 
in training leaders for all sorts of boys' clubs and groups. 

4. Gymnasium leaders' corps: 

One physical director quickly discovered that these methods 
would help him to train leaders for his gymnasium classes and 
clubs. 

5. College and rural Associations: 

Naturally, these plans are not limited in their application to 
the city Association. County, railroad, and other Associations 
will find them equally helpful, while my four years as a college 
general secretary lead me to believe they may help in student 
fields, especially in developing a strong cabinet. 

6. Foreign Associations : 

Secretaries in other countries will find help here in the 
training of the nationals of these countries in the work of the 
Association, both as secretaries and as committeemen. 

7. Other religious and social organizations: 

Pastors of churches, secretaries of Young Women's Chris- 
tian Associations, head workers of social settlements, and other 
leaders who have to do with the training of assistants and vol- 
unteer workers will, I hope, find in these chapters useful 
processes. 

8. Corporations : 

Several leaders in the training of men for executive positions 
in industrial and business corporations have said that the ideas 
developed in this book apply with full force to their work. 
This is probably true ; a few of the plans discussed are adapta- 
tions of processes in operation in industry, learned during my 
study of executive training in corporations, while I served 



INTRODUCTION xix 

as a member of the Training Methods Committee of the Na- 
tional Association of Corporation Training, and while a student 
of personnel work with F. C. Henderschott of the New York 
Edison Company in a course given by him in New York 
University in the fall of 1918. 

IX. Limitation 

As the name implies, this book deals only with the training 
of the local staff as carried on by the executive or general secre- 
tary. No attempt is made to treat the whole subject of secre- 
tarial training or the theory and practice of those essential 
institutions, the Association Colleges. The hundreds of men 
in the assistant secretaryship who have had no special training 
for the work of the Association, and the large possibilities of 
this source of Association leadership, justify the preparation of 
a book limited to this problem and suggesting ways by which 
these men may secure at least some of the elements of sound 
professional training. 

The Association Colleges occupy an important position in the 
training of men for the secretaryship — a position the signifi- 
cance of which will secure growing recognition. It is my hope 
that this contribution to the problem of local training will serve 
as a stimulus to all the training agencies and result in increasing 
interest in the Colleges. 

X. Appreciation 

How much I have drawn upon the wisdom and experience 
of others in the preparation of the chapters that follow ! The 
words of appreciation that often end an introduction were never 
written more sincerely than are these, as I acknowledge very 
deep personal indebtedness to the writers whose books I have 
studied and the men whose patience I have doubtless tried with 
persistent questioning, and who have been a great help to me 
in my effort to learn how to do my work of training secretaries 
for the Young Men's Christian Association. The list of those 
interviewed is too long to print in full, and it is difficult to 
choose only a few; yet in passing over many who know their 



xx INTRODUCTION 

names should be here, I must mention J. W. Dietz of the West- 
ern Electric Company and C. R. Dooley of the Standard Oil 
Company, real educators in industry, who, at important times, 
gave me more help than they realized; William Orr of the 
International Committee for his guidance of my study of pro- 
ject teaching; Harrison S. Elliott, of the International Com- 
mittee, master of the discussion method; my associate, Jay A. 
Urice, for help all along the line ; C. K. Ober, pioneer seer of 
this vocation, who first suggested that I undertake the work of 
training secretaries ; my "chief ," R. P. Kaighn, for many op- 
portunities and helpful suggestions; Miss Sadie Lind of the 
Personnel Bureau office for efficient help on the manuscript; 
and her to whom this book is dedicated, wise counselor in 
every task. 

Paul Super. 
New York, 
October I, 1920. 



PART I 
PROCESSES 

The fourteen elements in the local training program 



CHAPTER I 

A VARIED EXPERIENCE 

Analysis 

I. What Does a YMCA Secretary Do? 
II. What Things Does a Secretary Get Others to Do ? 

III. A Varied Experience 

i. A corporation plan 

2. An Association plan 

3. The understudy plan 

IV. A Graphic Record of Varied Experience 
V. Values to Be Secured 

1. Technical skill 

2. Personal growth 

3. Ability to attack and solve problems 

4. Initiative and resourcefulness 

5. Certain character qualities 

6. Outlook 

VI. Avoiding Extremes 

1. First possibility of error 

2. Second possibility of error 

VII. A Guide to Your Definite Planning 

Problem 

How can our younger secretaries be given that varied ex- 
perience which will result in their largest growth and develop- 
ment? 

I. What Does a YMCA Secretary Do ? What Prob- 
lems Does He Have to Attack and Solve? 

The answers to these two questions will give us helpful sug- 
gestions as to what a Y M C A secretary should study during 
the first years of his preparation for, and experience in, secre- 

3 



4 TRAINING A STAFF 

tarial leadership, and the tasks that should be assigned him for 
training purposes. The answers will form the content, the 
subject matter, of his secretarial education. 

These questions have been asked in various city Associations 
where the training of the staff was being discussed; such As- 
sociations as, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Columbus, and Nashville. 
Here is the composite answer to the first question, before the 
material was systematized. 



What Things Does a Secretary Do? 



Gets members. 

Gives information. 

Leads Bible classes. 

Gets jobs for men. 

Becomes personally acquainted 

with men. 
Promotes entertainments. 
Locates men in living rooms. 
Gives vocational advice. 
Operates a building. 
Teaches men to play games. 
Works with committeemen. 
Trains teachers. 
Enrolls students. 
Collects fees. 

Arranges religious interviews. 
Teaches thrift. 
Leads hikes. 
Gives sex instruction. 
Teaches men attitude toward 

job. 
Introduces men to churches. 
Develops character by personal 

contact. 
Lends men money. 
Raises money. 
Accounts for money. 
Disburses money. 
Trains other secretaries. 
Leads men into the Christian 

life. 
Conducts game rooms. 



Arranges medical and physical 

exams. 
Promotes hygienic living. 
Operates a restaurant and soda 

fountain. 
Makes talks and speeches. 
Prepares publicity and arranges 

its distribution. 
Assigns lockers. 
Handles correspondence. 
Writes manuals. 
Supervises work of others. 
Coordinates his work with 

others. 
Gives information as to points 

of interest. 
Pacifies folks. 
Shows building. 
Makes lobby attractive. 
Promotes a "24 Hour a Day" 

Club. 
Runs a check room. 
Operates a billiard room. 
Sells books, money orders, etc. 
Conducts committee meetings. 
Makes a budget. 
Outlines and plans policies. 
Runs movies. 

Purchases books, supplies, etc. 
Conducts lectures. 
Makes surveys. 
Promotes extension activities, 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 



Wins people to the purpose of 
the Association. 

"Sells" Association features and 
activities. 

Coaches committeemen. 

Coaches assistants. 

Studies reports. Writes reports. 

Helps assimilate new members. 

Outlines business for committee 
meetings. 

Ushers at meetings. 

Leads singing. 

Works up committees. 

.Makes prospect lists. 

Follows up students. 

Plans programs of activities. 

Conducts meetings. 

Discovers, secures, trains group 
leaders. 

Conducts training classes. 

Keeps abreast of times. 

Receives callers. 

Fraternizes with men. 

Conducts personal interviews on 
others' problems. 

Studies for personal growth. 

Promotes recreation. 

Makes daily reports. 

Visits prisons. 

Conducts foremen's meetings. 

Promotes educational classes. 

Supervises classes. 

Employs instructors. 

Determines educational policies. 

Inspects building. 

Hires help. 

Locates and rectifies difficulties. 

Solicits foreign work money. 

Coaches assistants at desk. 

Recruits extra workers. 

Extends hospitality. 

Takes membership applications. 

Inspects equipment and activi- 
ties. 



Helps on State and National 
Association affairs. 

Carries on community service. 

Studies his field. 

Studies the needs of men. 

Runs an orchestra. 

Writes newspaper articles. 

Writes ads. 

Interviews prospective students. 

Calls on sick men. 

Attends staff conferences. 

Organizes Bible classes. 

Balances the cash. 

Rents rooms. 

Makes entries in record books. 

Pays bills. 

Banks money. 

Cultivates relationships with 
churches, schools, etc. 

Keeps rooms in an orderly 
shape. 

Devises physical education pro- 
gram. 

Conducts shop meetings. 

Organizes athletic leagues. 

Promotes shop socials. 

Conducts financial campaigns. 

Organizes social clubs. 

Is a boys' work expert. 

Cultivates friends for the Asso- 
ciation. 

Maintains a foreign work ex- 
hibit. 

Manages an office. 

Answers general public in- 
quiries. 

Formulates courses of study. 

Interviews men. 

Promotes social programs. 

Secures committee service. 

Works through committeemen. 

Sets up leagues and tourna- 
ments. 

Sells candy, stamps, postcards. 



TRAINING A STAFF 



Posts dormitory payments and Keeps attendance records. 



room assignments. 

Operates the 'phones. 

Dictates letters. 

Answers criticisms. 

Conducts camps. 

Organizes campaigns. 

Operates playgrounds. 

Meets men. 

Leads men to church member- 
ship. 

Promotes physical work. 

Checks cash. 

Keeps membership records. 



Secures speakers. 

Secures and attends Boards of 
Directors and committee 
meetings. 

Cooperates with pastors. 

Organizes a laundry system. 

Promotes reading-room activity. 

Maintains relation with settle- 
ments and charities. 

Maintains relations with Y. W. 
C. A., K. of C, C. S. Inc., 
Red Cross, etc. 

Learns people's names. 



Add to this list such other tasks as are peculiar to your own 
Association. The total result is rather an overwhelming list. 
What a wide range of interests and tasks it covers, and what 
a variety of talent is required ! It would be profitable to spend 
quite a while in careful study of this analysis of your work. 
E>o this now, or return to it. 

a. Which of these things do men do fairly well without pre- 
vious training? That is, at which do they attain skill 
immediately ? 

b. For which of these tasks is it necessary to train men ? 
Which do they do well only after special training? 

c. Which do they learn to do after entering the Association 
secretaryship ? 

d. For which are there a variety of processes, but just one 
best way? 

e. In which do character qualities count most? 

f. For which items is technical skill required? 

g. For \vhich are standard .processes in use in your Associa- 
tion? 

Copy this list, and write "a," "b," "c," etc., in front of those 
items which you select in answer to questions "a" to "g." 
Now that you have done this, what is the content of your train- 
ing program, so far as this study reveals it? What do your 
men need to be taught ? 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 7 

Perhaps you could handle this material more readily if you 
classified it under a system of headings. If no better system 
suggests itself, try one of these : 

A functional classification of secretarial tasks. 

Studying Training 

Planning Dispatching 

Organizing Reporting 

Enlisting or selling Conducting or supervising 

Assigning Accounting or recording 

Promoting Maintaining equipment 

A classification by departments. 
Religious Membership 

Educational Office 

Social Business 

Physical Boys 

Economic Finance 

Try this one: 

Dealings with things 
Dealings with persons 
Dealings with ideas 

A division into staff duties and line duties is also possible, 
each of these broad classes being again subdivided, either by 
functions (things you do, as plan, promote) or by departments. 

II. What Things Does a Secretary Get Others to Do? 

There are those who believe that a secretary who does all 
the work himself is not the most efficient leader. The real 
secretary, they would say, is the one who gets others to do 
things, and so multiplies himself many times. 

With this in mind, check your list again, and indicate how 
many of those listed tasks and others in addition, the skillful 
secretary gets others to do. 

1. To what extent do the two lists, the things a secretary 
does and the things he gets others to do, coincide? 



8 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. What is the fundamental difference between the two 
lists ? 

3. What tasks is it out of the question to expect laymen to 
perform? 

4. What tasks should the secretary never do if he can get 
a layman to undertake them? 

III. A Varied Experience 

Without discussing at this point just why we believe it is 
so, let us proceed on the assumption that the best way of 
learning how to do a thing is to do it. Many will accept this 
as axiomatic. The underlying theory is fully presented in a 
later chapter. 

You have carefully prepared a list of things you desire your 
staff to be able to do, and at which you wish your younger 
secretaries to begin to acquire skill. The problem you now 
face is that of so organizing the work-schedule and task-as- 
signment of each of these younger secretaries that he will have 
opportunity of securing actual experience in a wide variety of 
work. Probably three considerations influence your desire to 
give them this wide experience: 

You want all this work done. 

You want each secretary to have an opportunity to learn the 
elements of the whole secretarial vocation, to secure first of all 
a broad general experience. 

You want to give each man an opportunity to discover the 
sort of work he can do best, the line of his personal aptitudes 
and likings. You need this information for your guidance, and 
he also needs it as the basis of his choice of that phase of the 
secretaryship which is to be his life work. 

With a view to giving a man this opportunity for getting a 
wide experience and discovering his best aptitudes, Associa- 
tions and corporations have used the following plans in or- 
ganizing the work-schedules of prospective future executives. 

1. *A Corporation Plan 

Some corporations route these younger men through their 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 9 

various departments, planning a stay in each one long enough 
to allow the learner to get a good grasp of the problems and 
processes of that phase of the business. He carries real re- 
sponsibilities, does genuine "production work," but is not kept 
in one place beyond a reasonable learning period, say three 
months. 

The chief difficulty encountered here is the objection of the 
head man to instructing new men continually, and then losing 
them just when they become of real assistance. A second ob- 
jection is the break in the young man's personal relation to 
things he has started and which more or less center in his per- 
sonal connection with them. There is undoubtedly a loss in 
this shifting of personality. 

Some think that the ultimate gains due to all-around trained 
men, and the ability of the job to attract ambitious men, out- 
weigh their disadvantages. But the department heads often 
object to the process. They prefer low-grade men who "stay 
put" to men of larger ability who shift every three months. 
The plan has not been extensively tried in Young Men's Chris- 
tian Associations. 

2. An Association Plan 

Some general secretaries think well of the plan of schedul- 
ing seventy-five per cent of a man's time in a permanent 
position for a year and leaving twenty-five per cent of his time 
to be utilized in work in different departments. For instance, 
a man might spend six hours a day in the office, and two hours 
in tasks in other departments; such as, soliciting members, 
making collections, managing shop meetings, teaching Bible 
classes, and working with committees. The plan has much to 
commend it. Then men are brighter during the shorter office 
periods, more deeply interested in the whole Association, more 
attracted by their work, and get a genuine varied experience. 
Some favor shortening the six hours of office work to five, and 
dividing the day's fifteen-hour schedule between three men. 
These are reenforced during the most busy hours by depart- 
ment heads and other secretaries. This brings department 



io TRAINING A STAFF 

heads behind the counter and levels up the whole standard and 
dignity of counter duty. The recommendation comes out of 
successful experience. Difficulties with the cash are obviated 
by having three cash drawers or a main and supplementary 
cash drawer, or by each man checking the cash as he comes 
on and goes off, using a printed form which is quickly filled 
in. Work out a schedule for your office on this basis, to see 
what difficulties are involved. How can one overcome these 
difficulties ? 

The position of office secretary in the general office is usually 
considered the best place in which to begin one's secretarial 
experience. It affords splendid opportunities for meeting men, 
learning their needs, their problems, why they come to the 
Association building, and ways in which the Association can 
best serve them. Contacts are formed there. The records 
of the Association are kept there. Definite responsibility is 
easily assumed, a view of the whole Association is secured, 
and the minute details are there met and mastered. The 
junior secretary's office work is easily supervised, he is readily 
coached for different tasks, and his progress easily noted. On 
the other hand, many office secretaries are neglected, receive 
little help or coaching, become discouraged with the deadening 
routine of an unvaried experience, and leave the work. The 
office secretaryship can be made a splendid place in which to 
receive training. No real training will take place there, how- 
ever, unless such training is definitely planned and supervised. 

3. The Understudy Plan 

The position of understudy to the general or executive sec- 
retary has great possibilities along this line (getting a varied 
experience), if the general or executive secretary understands 
the kindly and unselfish art of providing this variety of ex- 
perience for his assistant. The senior who knows how and is 
willing to delegate worth-while pieces of work to his junior 
holds the key to the junior's growth and happiness. There are 
such men. May their tribe increase! 

Whatever plan of giving junior secretaries a varied experi- 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 1 1 

ence is adopted, someone must carry the responsibility of 
planning, scheduling, dispatching, and supervising this phase 
of their work. 

Who should do this in your Association? 

How can he schedule this work for a junior secretary? As 
one answer to the second question, a modification of a graphic 
method worked out for the shops and industries working in 
cooperation with the engineering school of the University of 
Cincinnati is here presented. (For original, see U. S. Bureau 
of Education Bulletin No. 37, 1916, p. 18.) 

IV. A Graphic Record of Varied Experience 
Proceed as follows : 

1. Break up the secretarial task into all those things a secre- 
tary on your staff needs to be able to do, as we have attempted 
to do early in this chapter. Let us hereafter use the word 
''project" for each of these tasks. 

2. Classify these under appropriate heads. For this purpose 
the departmental classification may be the most usable. 

3. Rule a sheet of paper as in the accompanying diagram. 

4. For convenience, consider all days after the 28th of the 
month as part of the fourth week. 

5. When a project has been completed, grade the perform- 
ance of the project A, B, C, or D, and enter this letter in 
the proper week. 

6. At any time, a chart for each secretary-in-training, so 
filled out, will show the areas of his experience, his degree of 
skill, his improvement, and the areas of Association work in 
which he has been given no training. 



12 



TRAINING A STAFF 



Record of Experience and Projects 

Secretary-in-Training 

Sept., 1920, to Sept., 192 1 



Month 



Week 



Business Office: 
Receiving cash 
Ordering supplies 
Checking dormitory rent 
Paying bills 
Filing magazines 
Etc. 

Membership Work: 
Soliciting members 
Collecting fees 
Sending renewal notices 
Building prospect list 
Etc. 

Social Work: 

Showing visitor building 
Promoting dormitory social 
Conducting social singing 
Etc. 

Religious Work: 

Organizing Bible class 
Promoting a forum 
Conducting religious inter- 
view 
Etc. 



September 



1234 



October 



1234 



November 



3 4 



V. Values to Be Secured 

In conducting a young secretary through this varied experi- 
ence as an introduction to the tasks and problems of the secre- 
taryship, there are at least six values to be secured. The pro- 
jects can easily be gone through mechanically and very little 
of these gains achieved. The educational values we desire to 
obtain must be definitely planned for, and the securing of them 
lifted to a higher plane than incident or accident. 

Which of these six values are essential to managerial ability? 

1. Technical skill. Ability to do the various phases of the 
work well. A finished workman is the result sought. For in- 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 13 

stance, the junior secretary might be asked to call up the 
directors to remind them of attendance at a directors' meet- 
ing. Technical skill in performing this task would consist 
in securing the right men, clarity in making known to them 
who is speaking and the object of the telephone call, the 
use of a pleasant voice in 'phoning, and the securing of 
an accurate report as to whether or not the men called up would 
attend the meeting. 

An important phase of technical skill is the possession of cer- 
tain right habits; such as always answering the 'phone in a 
pleasant voice, or in saying ''Jones speaking," instead of 
"Hello," upon taking down the receiver. 

2. Personal growth — constantly enlarging caliber. This 
growth comes from thought in connection with tasks, from 
asking "Why?" The junior secretary in this case might want 
to know why the directors are wanted at this particular meet- 
ing, and proceed from that to the deeper underlying principle 
of the Association as a layman's organization. He advances 
beyond mere technical proficiency in calling up the directors 
and getting a clear report by using this task as an occasion for 
a deeper understanding of Association philosophy. Or he 
might want to know who these men are whom he is calling up 
and what the most effective approach to each of them would be. 
The point is that in our giving men a varied experience they 
must be allowed to develop beyond mere perfection in routine 
to a consideration of principles. 

3. Ability to attack and solve problems, an understanding 
of how to locate the difficulties in any situation, and to find the 
proper solution for the problem presented. 

4. Initiative and resourcefulness. The giving of men a 
varied experience can be so conducted as to eliminate com- 
pletely these important values from a man's personality. Or 
projects can be so assigned as to give a man's own creative 
instincts an opportunity, and develop them through their 
exercise. 

5. Certain character qualities, such as continued enthusiasm, 
the habit of doing one's best, patience, optimism, faith in men, 



i 4 TRAINING A STAFF 

kindly force fulness, organization of time, neatness, and 
gentility. 

6. Outlook; ability to see and the habit of seeing the im- 
mediate task and the Association itself in its wider relations, 
its place in society, its historical setting, and to appreciate the 
relation of what are usually called cultural subjects to a secre- 
tary's life and work. 

Happy is that junior secretary whose chief sees in the daily 
round of work opportunity for the enriching of his junior's 
life and the securing of these educational values. Both the 
junior and the senior will make their way into the Associa- 
tion's "Who's Who." 

VI. Avoiding Extremes 

Success in the matter of giving men a varied experience lies, 
as does most success, in avoiding the possible extremes. 

1. First possibility of error. 

a. Men may be kept at certain tasks long after the educa- 
tional value of the project has been secured. There are some 
tasks at which secretaries-in-training should be kept only so 
long as they afford valuable experience, or give insight into 
processes. 

b. The opposite extreme is so to crowd on work and experi- 
ence as either to confuse the learner or overwork him. Time 
is an element in growth, and digestion helps intellectual, just 
as it helps gastronomic, processes. 

2. Second possibility of error. 

a. "I throw them into the water and let them swim" repre- 
sents another extreme. The method results in poor swimmers 
and many drownings. 

b. On the other hand, some men are coached till they are 
sick of it, and all their initiative is taken from them by too 
much instruction as to detail. 

VII. A Guide to Your Definite Planning 

i. If you make the office secretaryship a genuine beginning 
of a secretarial education, what sort of man should you place 



A VARIED EXPERIENCE 15 

in this position, as to age, education, and possibility of growth? 

2. To what extent have you found that a variety of tasks 
helps in the development of a man and in the discovery of his 
best abilities? 

3. How many hours do your younger secretaries spend be- 
hind the office counter? 

4. How many hours can they spend there and do first-class 
work ? 

5. How can these men be given an educational and refresh- 
ing varied experience? 

6. How would you definitely use the twenty-five per cent of 
a man's time available for work outside the office? 

7. Who should be responsible for the use of this time? 

8. How can these varied tasks, or projects, be given real 
educational value? 

Having read this chapter through, return now to the ques- 
tions you have merely read and not answered, and do the work 
required to answer them. Only to the extent that you actually 
think these things through will this material here given be of 
value to you. In the last set of questions above, the first two 
do not require immediate action. Questions 3 to 8 are asked 
with the hope that you will take paper and pencil and work 
out a definite plan, now. Investigate, plan, decide, act. 

In making your thorough analysis of your Association work, 
consult the list of projects in Chapter II and the material in 
Part III, "The Content of the Secretaryship." 



CHAPTER II 

PROJECTS 

Analysis 

I. Project Teaching: Five steps 

1. A list of projects 

2. The project outline: Illustration 

3. The assignment 

4. The execution of the project 

5. Report and discussion 

II. A Consideration of the Steps 

1. The preparation of project outlines 

a. Six illustrations with comment 

(1) Securing a Committee Meeting 

(2) Soliciting a Membership Renewal 

(3) Using the Telephone 

(4) Preparing Stock for Stair Stringer 

(5) A Potato-Growing Project 

(6) A Vegetable Garden Project 

b. Three methods of preparation 

(1) Problem-solution method 

(2) Chronological order 

(3) Related study method: Illustration and 

comment 

2. Assigning a project: Three methods 

a. A previously prepared outline 

b. A jointly prepared outline: Illustration 

c. The junior prepares the outline 

3. The execution of the project 

a. Coaching 

b. Related study 

4. Reporting the project 

III. The Choice and Sequence of Projects 

1. Selecting projects : Considerations affecting the choice 

2. The sequence of projects 

16 



PROJECTS 17 

IV. Summary 
V. Suggested Projects 
VI. Long-Term, or Major, Projects 
VII. References 

Problem 

How can our secretaries-in-training secure educational 
values — growth — from performing these assigned tasks that 
make up a varied experience? 

I. Project Teaching 

We broke up the secretarial vocation into the tasks or proj- 
ects that compose it. Now we push farther into the training 
problem, and seek to discover a way of giving genuine educa- 
tional value to these tasks. 

A modern teaching method known as "project teaching" 
affords an answer to the question at the top of the page. The 
method itself is as old as man. It is new only in that it is a 
scientific organization of what certain good teachers have long 
been doing. 

Any task, anything that is to be done, is, in this use of the 
word, a project. Balancing the books, soliciting a member- 
ship, leading a meeting, promoting a social — all these are proj- 
ects. Some take a few minutes ; some go on for months. 

The five steps in project teaching are as follows: 

1. The work of a secretary is analyzed into its component 
tasks, as was done in the previous chapter. Each of these is 
called a "project." 

2. An outline of the things to be done is then prepared for 
each project — an outline for the actual doing of a piece of 
real work, a part of the Association's regular program. Such 
an outline as this : 

PROJECT — Securing a Committee Meeting 

1. When will you have the committee meet? 

a. Who should be consulted as to the time? 

b. What hours have previously proved well chosen? 



18 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. Where shall the committee meet? 

a. What places are most convenient to all concerned? 

b. What places are available? 

c. What places are especially desirable? 

d. What is the previous experience on this point? 

e. If a meal-time meeting is chosen, who pays for the 

meal ? 

3. How will you notify the committeemen? 

a. What are the advantages of (1) a post card, (2) 

a letter, (3) a 'phone call, (4) a personal call? 

b. What information as to the business to be trans- 

acted should this notice convey? 

4. How can the chairman best be prepared to preside in- 

telligently, and get all necessary business transacted? 

5. How can the members be prepared for helpful participa- 

tion in the discussion? 

6. What final reminder of the meeting will you send out? 

3. The third step is the assigning of this project to the 
secretary-in-training. 

4. He undertakes and completes the project with a well- 
considered amount of consultation and supervision. 

5. He reports upon his project, sometimes to the senior 
secretary, sometimes to a training-class where it is discussed. 

II. A Consideration of the Steps 

Let us now consider each of these five steps and see what 
help to a good understanding of them we can get from the 
experience of those who have been using this method these 
past ten years. We will begin our discussion with the second 
step, the preparation of project outlines, reserving comment 
upon the making of a list of projects until the general method 
of their use is well understood. 

1. The Preparation of Project Outlines 

a. Six illustrations with comment 

Here are a few sample outlines. We will study their 
characteristics, and then discuss how to prepare them ourselves. 

(1) PROJECT — Securing a Successful Committee Meeting 
The Membership Committee is to meet at 4:30 p. m. in a 
class-room. 



PROJECTS 19 

1. How should you prepare the room for this meeting? 

a. What are the advantages of meeting around a table? 

b. How will you arrange the chairs so that the least 

possible number of men sit with the light in their 
eyes? 

c. What will you do with excess chairs or furniture, to 

make the room neat and attractive? 

d. What will you do if the table and chairs have not 

been dusted? 

e. What heat and ventilation arrangements need to be 

attended to? 

2. What preparations will facilitate the work of the com- 

mittee ? 

a. What advance information should they have con- 

cerning the business to be considered? 

b. What typewritten reports or notes should be pro- 

vided for each man? 

c. What preliminary work will prevent the meeting 

from being a monologue by the secretary? 

d. How much coaching will the chairman require to 

prepare him to preside? 

3. Who will meet and greet the members as they . arrive? 

a. Where meet them? 

b. What instructions will the man at the counter need? 

4. How should the meeting be conducted? 

a. Who will prepare the order of business? W T ho will 

preside ? 

b. Who will keep the minutes? Why? 

c. What are the advantages of definite action in the 

form of motions or resolutions ? 

d. How long should the meeting last? 

e. How bring it to a close if it is going to run too 

long? 

f. Under what circumstances may long and difficult 

matters be referred to sub-committees for report 
at a later meeting? Or 

g. To sub-committee with power to act? 

5. What do you desire to accomplish by this meeting? 

a. What is the main issue to be considered? 

b. To what extent do you want the help of all the mem- 

bers of the committee in reaching decisions? 

c. How far do you want to "put something over"? 

d. Which procedure, b or c, will develop genuine work- 

ing committees? Why? 



20 TRAINING A STAFF 

Comment: (The paragraphs under this head are not part 
of the project outline.) 

1. Here the thought and activity of the junior secretary who 
is to carry out the project are stimulated entirely by questions. 
No directions are given. What effect will this have upon his 
interest and initiative? What is the relative value of questions 
and directions in producing thoughtful action? 

2. The order of the questions is chronological, with the ex- 
ception of the last set, 5 a, b, c, d. There are other good ways 
of arranging the questions. 

3. The questions are all such as a senior secretary would 
ask a junior on his staff. 

4. How many of the questions can be answered by saying 
"yes" or "no"? 

5. How would you justify your giving this amount of time 
and care to setting up a task for an assistant? 

(2) PROJECT — Soliciting a Membership Renewal. This 
man has failed to reply to the usual notice that his dues 
are- now payable. 

1. a. Who is he? How old? What are his connections? 

b. Why has he not called to pay his membership fees? 

c. Did he join for privileges, or as a contribution, or to 

render service? 

d. Has he been to the building recently? Why, or why 

not? 

e. Has he been getting that for which he joined the 

Association? 

f. Where, and at what time had you best see him? 

g. What conditions will you have to meet when you 

see him? Will he be alone or with other people? 

2. a. What approach will best win his attention? 

b. Outline your opening. 

c. In what will he be especially interested, some privilege 

or the idea of service to others? 

d. In what will you attempt to interest him? Can you 

enroll him for some piece of service? 

e. Why is it bad practice to say, "Your membership has 

expired"? What is the advantage in saying, "You 
usually pay your annual dues at this time"? 

3. a. What advantage is there in having his receipt all 

made out in advance? 



PROJECTS 21 

b. Does it help to have with you certain printed matter 

or reports? 

c. Can you use free tickets of admission to coming events 

with good effect? 

d. Should you carry with you a memo of the date he last 

paid, amount, and the feature he is interested in? 

e. Have you blank checks with you? 

f. He might be willing to interest a friend. Have you 

a ten-day pass with you? 

4. a. How many men can you see today? 

b. How will you route them? 

c. Could you really save money by using a taxi, time 

and energy considered? 

d. Can you handle certain men better if you take a mutual 

friend or member of your committee with you? 

5. a. Go to it and bring back the membership ! 

b. Make every visit add or retain a friend, smooth out a 

complaint, or enlist service. 

c. What can you do to leave the man in an interested 

and friendly attitude? 

6. a. Why did you succeed? 

b. Why did you fail? 

c. Would a friendly call a month in advance of renewal 

date have helped? 

d. Prepare a report showing what you have learned by 

this experience. 

e. Formulate some principles or rules of procedure based 

on your conclusions. 

Comment : 

1. The order here is not chronological. It considers, first, 
conditions and possible difficulties; then solutions for these; 
then details of procedure, specialized things to be done; then a 
few numerical calculations ; and finally, a review and report. 

2. It has been suggested that in some places in this outline 
too much of a man's thinking is done for him; for instance, 
questions 2 e and 3 d. How would you revise these to im- 
prove them? 

3. Note that 2 b and 5 b are directions. How much does 
this change improve or mar the process? 

(3) PROJECT— Using the Telephone. (Prepared by J. C. 
Clark, Shanghai, YMCA.) 



22 TRAINING A STAFF 

The way you use the telephone may secure or lose a 
member for the Association. It may even determine 
whether or not you are to be a secretary. Tact, intel- 
ligence, patience, and character are all needed when using 
the 'phone. 

1. Suppose a stranger calls up and you answer the tele- 

phone. To him you are the representative of the Asso- 
ciation; the impression you make on him causes him to 
be favorable or unfavorable to what you represent. 
What kind of an impression do you plan to make? 

2. How can you be sure that you make such an impression? 

3. What do you do when people speak to you over the tele- 

phone in a language which you do not understand? 

4. What do you do when they ask for someone whose name 

you have never heard? 

5. What do you do if they ask you to give someone a mes- 

sage? 

6. What do you do if they ask you to call someone else 

to the telephone? 

7. How do you close a conversation? 

8. If many persons use your telephone, what should you do 

every day with the mouthpiece? 

9. If you want to call the fire department, or police depart- 

ment, what is the quickest way? 
10. What is the fire department number? 

Comment : 

1. Between 2 and 3 might be inserted the questions, What 
do you say when you take down the receiver? Why? What 
are the advantages of saying "YMCA" instead of "Hello"? 
What inflection and tone of voice will make the best impres- 
sion upon the person calling? 

2. See if you can devise questions that will make the student 
himself suggest the points covered in the introductory para- 
graphs. 

Fruitful experiments in the outlining of work have been 
made by educators in a variety of fields. Their efforts have 
been very successful in the training of men. As their proced- 
ure will illuminate our task, a consideration of their method 
will be rewarding. 

The following three projects are illustrative of work in other 
fields. The first is a carpentry project used in the training of 



PROJECTS 23 

carpenters for the United States Army. It is Job No. i from 
Instruction Manual No. 4, "Carpenters," published by the War 
Department Committee on Education and Special Training, 
Washington, D. C. 

(4) PROJECT — Preparing Stock for Stair Stringer' Saw 
to a Line. (A drawing and three photographs illus- 
trate the project.) 
Square the ends of a 2" x 12" x 8' o" plank by sawing 

1" piece or pieces from the ends. 
Operations: Lining (pencil and square), sawing, testing 
with steel square. 

1. How does a plank differ from a board? 

2. What are saw horses used for? 

3. What is a steel square used for? 

4. How should the square be held while marking a line 

from edge to edge? From face to face? 

5. What is meant by squaring from edge to edge? From 

face to face? 

6. What is a cross cut saw used for? 

7. How does a cross cut saw differ from a rip saw? 

8. What is meant by a 10 point cross cut saw? 

9. How should T:he saw be held ? 

10. Tell just how to start the saw kerf. 

n. How should the blade of saw be held so as to cut square 
with the surfaces of the plank? 

12. If the saw leaves the line what should be done ? 

13. Should you saw on the line? If not, on what side of the 

line should you saw? 

14. While sawing should you press upon the saw? 

15. What should be done to prove that the saw blade is 

square with the surface of the plank? 

16. How can you prevent the edge of the plank from split- 

ting when finishing cut? 

17. How can you prove the end of the plank has been sawed 

square ? 

18. How are saws designated as to size? 

19. If you were going to purchase a cross cut saw for general 

use tell just what you would ask for. 

Comment : 

1. Could the information after "Operations" be drawn from 
the students' own thinking by some such question as "What 



24 TRAINING A STAFF 

operations are necessary in preparing this board?" How do 
you support your opinion? 

2. What determines the order of these questions? 

3. How will the student secure the data required to answer 
No. 10? 

4. What desirable result is better obtained by asking ques- 
tions than by giving explicit instructions in imperative sen- 
tences ? 

. The other two are projects used in the training of young 
men for scientific agriculture, and are taken from Bulletin No. 
21, "The Home Project as a Phase of Vocational Agricultural 
Education," issued by the Federal Board for Vocational Edu- 
cation, (pages 20 and 21). 

(5) Potato Growing Project 

1. Shall I grow potatoes? 

a. Is this section adapted to potatoes? 

b. Is my soil suitable for growing potatoes? 

c. Can I control all pests and diseases which prevail 

in this district? 
e. Is there a good prospect for potatoes paying a profit 
this year? 

2. What shall be my aim in potato production? 

a. Shall I grow late potatoes for winter use? 

b. Shall I grow early potatoes for the market? 

c. Shall I grow potatoes for seed? 

d. Shall I make a combination of the aims above? 

e. To which is my soil best adapted? 

f. Which offers the greatest prospect for returns? 

g. Which will fit in best with my work at home and at 

school ? 

3. How shall I prepare my land? 

a. Have the previous crop and the treatment of the 
land left it in suitable condition? 

b. What crop should I use to prepare the soil for a 

future potato crop? 

c. When and how should barnyard manure be used 

for a crop of potatoes? 

e. Can I afford to use commercial fertilizers on my 

potato land; if so, how much of what kind? 

f. When shall I plow and how deep? 

g. What other preparation .is necessary? 



PROJECTS 25 

Comment : 

1. The form here is that which a project takes when the 
student outlines his project for himself. 

2. What are the advantages of this form of procedure? 

(6) A Vegetable Garden Project 

(Part only. Univ. State of N. Y., Bui. No. 624 (1916). 
(1-5 omitted). 
6. Hotbed and cold frame construction. 

a. State the object of a hotbed and of a cold frame. 

b. Give the advantages of forcing vegetables under 

glass. 

c. Is it advisable to force vegetables for your market? 

d. How large a hotbed will be needed to grow plants 

for your garden? 

e. What should be the size of the cold frame in pro- 

portion to the hotbed? 

f. Describe the method of building a hotbed accord- 

ing to the following points: 

(1) Size of standard hotbed sash. 

(2) Depth of pit. 

(3) Amount of material needed to build hotbed 

frame. 

(4) Make a complete working drawing of the 

hotbed. 

(5) Describe in detail the method of oreparing 

horse manure for hotbed pit. 

g. Give a complete bill of cost of the hotbed. 

Comment : 

1. This outline combines questions and directions. 

2. What are the strong and weak points of this form of 
outline ? 

b. Three methods of preparation 

These specimens serve to give an idea of what a project 
outline is like. We can now study how to prepare such an 
outline. There are at least three principles in accordance with 
which the questions may be constructed and arranged. Each 
of these three gives us a method of outline preparation, which 
we will name problem-solution, chronological, and related- 
study, and present in that order. 

(1) The Problem-Solution Method 



26 TRAINING A STAFF 

(a) Let the first group of questions be such as will reveal 
the conditions to be met in undertaking the task, smoke out the 
difficulties, help locate the problems involved. 

(b) Let the second group lead to plans to meet these diffi- 
culties, solve these problems. 

(c) Let the third group suggest specific things to be done in 
preparation for the work. 

(d) The fourth group should deal with any necessary cal- 
culations that need to be made — the "how much, how many, 
when." 

(e) The fifth, any questions or suggestions that will facili- 
tate the actual dispatching of the undertaking. 

(f) The "last, questions that will help in the examination of 
the completed task and in the preparation of a report upon it. 
This includes the idea of appraising what has been done with a 
view to improvement. 

Examine the membership renewal project. To what extent 
does it conform to this scheme? 

Very simple projects will not require questions under all 
these heads. 

Dr. John Dewey's well-known analysis of the thought proc- 
ess is the basis of the above set of instructions. The Dewey 
analysis without modification would direct one through a proj- 
ect as follows : 

A Problem. A project always presents one or more prob- 
lems. Each problem should be located and clearly stated. 

Suspended Judgment. When confronted with the necessity 
for action men act in three ways — from impulse, from habit, 
or after thought. Here our action is to be thoughtful, so we 
suspend judgment as to what to do until we have carefully 
sought a proper solution of the problem. 

Search for a Solution. Here we find we have three re- 
sources ; our own previous experience that may have a bearing 
upon this situation, the experience of others, secured through 
interviews or by reading; and our own constructive imagina- 
tion and reason. All the data that these sources supply we 
weigh and appraise. Different possible courses of action are 
formulated and examined. We decide upon what seems to be 
the best thing to do. 



PROJECTS 27 

Action. We do the thing we decided upon, carry out the 
plan adopted after careful thought, work the plan. 

Appraisal. Then we examine what we have done to see if 
our plan worked, satisfactorily solved our problem. The weak 
and strong points are looked for, and decisions reached as to 
future action under similar circumstances. 

(2) The Chronological Method 

In this, a series of questions is so arranged as to bring up all 
the elements of the project in the order in which they will be 
performed, a chronological order. A question introduces each 
major step or difficulty. Apply this idea as a test of projects 
(1) and (4). 

(3) The Related-Study Method 

Study the portion of the "Vegetable Garden Outline" printed 
as Project (6) on page 25. Notice that here and there are 
questions or directions that push into fundamental theory, a 
and b for instance. In the project printed as Appendix C, 
page 296, there are many such questions. Those in the Associa- 
tion projects (1) and (2), pp. 18-21, deal chiefly with what to 
do and how to do it. Such "why" questions as are used are not 
ones that go deep into theory or Association history and prin- 
ciples. But questions that lead to this deeper reasoning are 
very desirable. We will give an illustration of a project so 
outlined. Any of the above could be revised to serve this same 
purpose. In the following outline, in addition to questions 
which form the plans and specifications of the project, there 
are others that require more than technical skill; they require 
reasoning and the looking up of reference material. Their 
use in teaching helps to develop the mental ability the students 
will need in executive and administrative work. 

PROJECT— Set up a "New Members' Supper" 

1. What ends do you wish this supper to serve? 

a. Of what benefit may it be to the new member? 

b. Of what benefit may it be to the Association? 

c. Of what benefit may it be to the committee that handles 

it? 

2. When will you give the supper? 



28 TRAINING A STAFF 

a. What considerations should be given weight in de- 

termining the time? 

b. Who should be consulted as to possible conflicting 

plans ? 

3. Where will you have the supper served? 

a. What places are available? 

b. What are their advantages and disadvantages? 

4. How will you secure your desired attendance? 

a. What men will you invite? 

b. What form of invitation will you use? 

c. How will you know how many to provide for? 

d. How will you follow up your invitation? 

e. What publicity would be desirable and helpful? 

f. What cooperation will you want from other mem- 

bers of the staff, and other committees ? 

5. What program will you provide to follow the supper? 

a. How much time is available? 

b. With what information should the new member be 

made acquainted? 

(1) Concerning the Association's origin? Locally? 

In London? 

(See "History of the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association," Doggett, pp. 30-41.) 

(2) Concerning its founder? 

(Same reference.) 

(3) Concerning our central objective? 

(See "Some Fundamental Principles/' 
Super, pp. 7-9.) 

(4) The fourfold work. 

(Same reference, pp. 14, 15.) 

(5) The place of the layman in our movement. 

(Same reference, p. 17.) 

c. How much of this can be interestingly presented 

in short talks? Who shall be asked to speak? 
What charter members or "old timers" are avail- 
able? 

d. What other presentation of this material would be 

effective? 

e. What features will you provide in addition to talks? 

f. What opportunity will you give the new member 

to tell why he joined and what he expects to do 
and get? 

g. How could you use the statistical data in the 1920 

Year Book of the Y M C A, pp. 80-81 ? 



PROJECTS 29 

6. What profitable lessons can you learn from the expe- 

rience of other Associations with this feature? 

a. From the Cleveland Central Association? 

b. From the Brooklyn Central Association? 

7. How will you divide the various tasks that make up this 

event among the committee ? 

8. Prepare an outline of what you have learned from this 

experience, with suggested improvement for the next 
similar event. 

Comment : 

1. This project outline assumes that the decision to hold 
such a supper has already been reached. It is, perhaps, a 
regular affair, and its promotion is now being turned over to a 
junior secretary. 

2. His first task, however, is to think the project through 
for himself and not merely proceed mechanically with a set 
program. 

3. The use of a committee is contemplated in the drawing up 
of the outline. The pronoun "you" may refer to the junior 
secretary as the executive goes over the ground with him, then 
to the committee as the junior secretary or chairman presents 
these questions for group discussion and action. 

4. This brings to the fore the fact that the project method 
of teaching is applicable to the training of committees as well 
as of junior secretaries. 

5. To what extent can such outlines be used in getting mat- 
ters before a board of directors? 

So much, for the present, on the subject of how to outline 
a project. The next subject we will discuss is the third step 
in the process, number 3 under I at the beginning of the chap- 
ter, page 18. 

2. Assigning a Project 

When the executive has decided to assign a certain project 
to one of his juniors, he faces the question of how to get the 
task or undertaking before the man who is to handle or direct 
it. He may choose one of three general methods of doing this. 



30 TRAINING A STAFF 

a. A previously prepared outline 

The executive will have a carefully outlined project drawn 
up according to one of the plans above. He calls in the junior, 
or calls upon him, and, with this list of questions before him, 
discusses the whole project with the junior, raising but not 
answering the questions. 

A copy of the project outline may be given the junior during 
the discussion, at its close, or even some time previous to it. 
The central feature here is that the outline has been prepared 
by the executive in advance. 

If the junior does not "warm up" to this particular piece of 
work and his interest in it cannot be aroused, another man may 
be chosen, or it may be necessary for the junior to tackle the 
job even though it does not greatly interest him. But this is 
unfortunate. The stage is not set for good educational work, 
as a vital factor in education is interest. 

A good deal of project teaching is done by the American 
secretaries in the Shanghai (China) Association. We print 
here an assignment prepared by S. E. Hening. It has some 
interesting and suggestive features. 

Assignment on Statistical Records 
Study Material and Sources of Information 

Emerson's "Home Course in Personal Efficiency" — Lesson 
Two. 

Emerson's "Twelve Principles of Efficiency" — Chapter VI. 

Hubert's "Problems of Business Management." 

Stone Commission Reports. 

S. E. Hening's "Accounts, Records, and Reports." 

Statistical Reports of City Associations in China. 

Report Blank of the National Committee. 

Annual Reports of the National Committee. 

Brinton's "Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts." 

Other books in the Business Department and Secretarial Train- 
ing Libraries. 

Observe the system used in the Shanghai Association. 

Compare this with system used in your Association. 

Consult with Messrs. Wm. Lee, J. C. Clark, H. A. Wilbur, 
S. E. Hening, and others. 



PROJECTS 31 

1. Keep the statistical records at the Shanghai Association, 

from 191 — to 191 — . 

2. What are records? (Give a full answer). 

3. What is their purpose? 

4. What are the chief points in satisfactory records? Why? 

(Full answer). 

5. Do you think records should be kept on cards, loose 

sheets, or in bound books? Why? 

6. What is the value of records in the Young Men's Chris- 

tian Association? (Full answer). 

7. What kind of information is usually desired by (a) The 

Board of Directors? (b) The General Secretary? 
(c) Other secretaries? 

8. What bearing should this have on the way records are 

kept? 

9. What different kinds of records are kept in the Associa- 

tion? 

10. What statistics would you consider the most important 

in your Association? Why? 

11. Should all local Associations in China follow the same 

method in keeping statistical records? Why? 

12. Can you suggest any improvement in the report blank 

sent out by the National Office? 

13. How are statistics kept in your Association? 

14. Translate into Chinese (material to be specified in each 

case). 

15. Outline a plan for keeping statistical records in your 

Association. 

b. A jointly prepared outline 

Here the two men sit down with pencil and paper, or go to 
the blackboard and together discuss the project, locate the diffi- 
culties, formulate the questions to be answered, and outline a 
procedure that suits the occasion. This is, of course, a very 
common method with many who never heard of "project 
teaching." It is likely to be done more efficiently after the 
process described just above has been used a while, and skill 
in analyzing a task secured by such careful work as project 
outlining takes for granted. 

Sometimes, in this conference method of outlining an under- 
taking, the suggestions come in most unorganized form. Here 
is an illustration ; it represents the work of a group of older 



32 TRAINING A STAFF 

secretaries who were working up an outline for a junior sec- 
retary's training. 

The project to be outlined was, " Arrange for and carry 
through the 10 p. m. Good Night Service." In getting the 
matter before the group interested, the leader asked, "What are 
the things that we must consider?" The answers came as 
follows : 

(i) Get speaker, carefully (5) Start and stop on time, 

chosen, so as to ap- (6) Ushers. 

peal to men. He must (7) The setting of the occa- 

be coached. sion; fireplace. 

(2) Get confidence of the (8) Seating. 

members. (9) Music. 

(3) Consider who is in the (10) Program items. 

building that night and (11) Presiding officer, 
hour. (12) Ventilation. 

(4) How advertise. (13) Object of the meeting. 

The list illustrates how we often take hold of a project right 
in the middle. Which of these items would have been sug- 
gested first, if a chronological order had been consciously fol- 
lowed ? 

After these points were all on the blackboard, they were re- 
classified as follows: 

I. Object of the meeting. Consider: 

1. Number present. Possible conflicting attractions. 

2. The previous program of the evening. 

3. What the men have done during the day. 

4. Their unmet needs. 

5. Specific objects of the meeting. 

II. The program of the meeting. 
Items 5, 9, 10, 11 on the list. 

III. The arrangements for the meeting. 
Items 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12 on the list. 

When a senior and junior secretary are outlining a piece of 
work together, they might go no farther than this. The items 
might not be, and need not be, phrased as questions. In this 
particular instance the outline was to be used as in "a" above, 



PROJECTS 33 

"a previously prepared outline," so the group proceeded to put 
the items into the form of questions to be asked the junior 
secretary who was to manage the meeting. How effective 
would the process be if the junior secretary in turn asked his 
committee these questions and had them run the meeting? 
Here are the questions: 

PROJECT — Arrange for and Carry through the 10 P. M. 
Good Night Service. 

1. What is the object of this meeting? 

a. How many members are likely to be in the building 

at that hour, and attracted to such a meeting? 

b. What have they been doing earlier in the evening? 

c. What has been their occupation during the day? 

d. What are their needs? Their unmet needs? 

e. What specific need shall we try to meet in this 

meeting ? 

2. What shall the program of the meeting be? 

a. Whom shall we secure to speak on this topic? 

b. How shall we coach him as to what need he is to 

meet? 

c. What music shall we provide? 

d. What songs, Scripture, etc.? 

e. Who shall preside? 

f. What details must be arranged so as to be able to 

start and stop on time? 

3. What arrangements must be made aside from the pro- 

gram? 

a. How can we secure the members' confidence in this 

meeting? 

b. What advertising will be most effective? 

c. How shall we arrange the seats around the fire- 

place ? 

d. How shall the doors and windows be arranged so 

as to secure proper ventilation, avoid drafts and 
undue noise? 

e. Whom shall we secure as ushers? 

c. The junior prepares the outline 

After a young secretary has been taught this problem and 
project method of study and of analyzing a task, he may be 
assigned a piece of work and asked to prepare his own outline. 



34 TRAINING A STAFF 

This he may, or may not, discuss with his chief. At times the 
former, at other times the latter, will be the case. 

Now carrying this last of the three methods one step farther, 
we come to the ideal project. 

It is one the junior secretary conceives himself. A statement 
by Professor W. S. Taylor of the State College of Pennsyl- 
vania reveals two of the reasons for the superior value of the 
self-conceived project. "The project that enlists the energy 
and resources of the student most is not your project, but the 
project that he himself is working out. . . . Every project 
is a life problem, and we get direction and power to handle 
other problems of life from having successfully worked out 
the preceding one." 

Right there are the two great values of the project which 
is a result of the junior secretary's seeing something that needs 
to be done, and undertaking to do it. First, his interest is 
deeper than in a task that has been assigned him by another, 
resulting in his more energetic enlistment in the enterprise; 
and second, he experiences a definite increase in power as a 
result of his having seen and solved a problem. 

We do not mean to imply that any one of these three methods 
of getting the student under the project should be used to the 
exclusion of the other two. The wise general secretary will 
experiment with all three, and see with which method he has 
the largest success, or which process succeeds with each of the 
men he is training. The same treatment does not secure equal 
response from all men. 

Remember the caution given in the latter part of the previous 
chapter against destroying a man's initiative by giving him too 
minute instructions, and, on the other hand, drowning him by 
throwing him unaided into water in which he is not able to 
swim. In assigning the task, do not tell the student too much. 
Start his mind working in productive fields by well-considered 
questions. Stimulate thinking. Do not crush it. "Wisely di- 
rected freedom" is the ideal condition for developing what 
John Dewey calls "problem-solving ability." 

A brief quotation on the subject of project teaching from 



PROJECTS 35 

William Orr, an authority in this field, is appropriate in this 
discussion of assigning tasks. 

"In assigning projects, the interests and likes of the students 
should be to some extent considered, as one is likely to gain 
more knowledge in performing a task in which he is interested 
than in doing something that does not appeal to him. The in- 
terest shown in a particular line of work will reveal the special 
aptitude of the student. This principle, however, may be ap- 
plied too literally, as it frequently happens that one taking up a 
task for which he has no liking at the outset becomes greatly 
interested in it as he masters its details and gains a sense of 
efficiency. . 

"In addition to performing a given task or project according 
to standardized methods, worked out by experience, stress 
should be put upon the student to reflect upon better ways and 
means of accomplishing this task. This appeal may be made 
in the form of suggestive questions. The purpose is to en- 
courage initiative and resource on the part of the student, and 
to discourage a merely mechanical performance of instruc- 
tions." 

Projects are assigned to groups as well as to individuals, and 
responsibilty for the various parts of the enterprise assumed 
by different members. These cooperative undertakings help 
to develop that highly essential element of success, team work, 
and give the men valuable experience in working as members 
of a group. Project teaching seeks to cultivate individuality 
but not individualism. The thought of a British philosopher 
is worth noting here : "Civilization is growth in the capacity 
for and use of cooperation." 

We will end this section here, lest we ourselves be guilty of 
over-instruction. 

3. The Execution of the Project 

This is the fourth step of the five mentioned in the first 
section. 

a. Coaching 

After the preliminary discussion the doing of the piece of 
work should proceed with a moderate amount of coaching, or 
no coaching at all, unless the secretary-in-training seeks help. 



36 TRAINING A STAFF 

Let the amount of supervision also be reduced to the least 
amount commensurate with keeping proper check on progress 
and observing the degree of skill with which the man works. 

The executive should visit the young secretary while he is 
at work, in order to observe his methods and how he deals with 
different situations ; but this should always be done in a quiet 
way, the executive never intruding himself into the situation 
or taking matters out of the hands of the younger man, unless 
it is to prevent a positive disaster. It is in the unaided handling 
of difficulties that the young secretary gains most power. 
These supervisory visits of the executive should be so con- 
ducted as to be welcomed by the beginner as contributing to 
his progress. 

We will examine the subject of coaching further and more 
fully in Chapter V. 

b. Related Study 

Let us consider the growth in power and knowledge which 
the student may experience if the project is considered as a 
genuine educational opportunity, and used as an occasion for 
making investigations in fields of knowledge related to the task 
in hand. 

Each task suggests lines of helpful study. The project of 
leading a boys' Bible class calls for a study of adolescent psy- 
chology, religious education, theory of education, and teaching 
method. Making the arrangements for the annual election of 
officers and directors will suggest an investigation of the As- 
sociation constitution, the history of the evangelical test, the 
Paris basis, and the basis of membership in other countries. 
These investigations, designated as "related study," are sug- 
gested by almost every important task undertaken. There is 
no more appropriate time for this study than when the student 
is working on a problem upon which it will shed light, in 
solving which it will give him an increase of skill, and into 
which such reading and study will give him a deeper insight. 
Motive, or interest, is best created by the desire for help in 
solving problems. This stimulus to real study is set in opera- 
tion by the presence of a task that makes the study profitable. 



PROJECTS 37 

Naturally there will not be time for the junior secretary to 
make wide investigations in connection with every task he 
undertakes; but this fact should not be allowed to operate to 
the exclusion of all such related study. A reasonable amount 
of it will bring large rewards ; and how much more significant 
very simple tasks become when the mental habit of investiga- 
tion is operative! Association history and principles, psychol- 
ogy, sociology, instead of being just dead stuff in books, 
become interesting answers to the daily supply of "whys," and 
positive help in that deep desire of our hearts, "making good." 

A good discussion of related study is found in R. W. Stim- 
son's "Vocational Agricultural Education," pages 42 to 50, 59, 
64 to 66, and 70. There it is shown that project knowledge, 
secured through project teaching, is of three kinds, or degrees. 
First, rules, which we discover or seek to discover; second, 
reasons, the understanding of the reasons for the rules; and 
third, broader results — "horizon" — "informational material of 
many sorts," the fruits of related study. These three, Rules, 
Reasons, Broader Results, Mr. Stimson calls the "Three R's" 
of the project method. 

It is the pursuit of this related knowledge that has made 
the daily work of some junior secretaries stimulating and 
worthy, and the absence of which has led strong young college 
men to leave the work because they found it dull routine and 
deadening. The same breeze blows in both places ; the differ- 
ence in destination is due to the set of the sails. 

The execution of a project furnishes an unexcelled opportu- 
nity for the introduction and discussion of those experiences in 
the history of the Association, both locally and as a movement, 
on the basis of which it has formulated its principles. As they 
have a definite bearing upon both the manner in which certain 
things are done and the reason for so doing them, the young 
secretary should become acquainted with these historical situa- 
tions and accepted principles. A few simple questions asked in 
connection with any project bring this material to the front. 
Such questions as these : In what way, if any, does Association 
history, local or general, throw light upon the problems in- 



38 TRAINING A STAFF 

volved in this project? What lessons can we learn from the 
experience of others in performing this task, or securing this 
end? What fundamental Association principles does this proj- 
ect introduce ? What literature bears upon this piece of work ? 

4. Reporting the Project 

The secretary-in-training may report his project upon its 
completion, or he may report it at one or more stages of its pro- 
gress, if it is a long one or composed of various minor projects 
each of which might be reported. The report may be in one of 
three forms: 

a. Written in his note-book, for his own private purposes, 
such as future reference. A membership campaign in which 
he takes part is worthy of such a report. 

b. An oral report to his senior secretary, following written 
notes. 

c. An oral report to a group of secretaries, following written 
notes. This report is then discussed, questions are asked and 
answered, criticisms considered, and problems located and 
analyzed, with suggested solutions. 

The elements in the problem of reporting a project seem to 
be these: the note-book, the choice of projects for reports, the 
content of the report, the manner of the report (to whom and 
under what circumstances), and the senior secretary's com- 
ment upon the report, or the group discussion of it. 

1. What form of notebook is most desirable? 

a. What are the relative values of the loose-leaf and 

bound form of notebook? 

b. What cover is most pleasant to handle? 

c. Which do you prefer, a large one like I. P. 514, or 

a smaller one like I. P. 507? Why? 

d. What degree of care should be exercised in writing 

up the project in the notebook? 

2. What information should the report contain? 

a. What is the name and nature of the project? 

b. What is the general problem involved? 

c. What statements of each problem or difficulty en- 

countered and the steps taken to solve it will be of 



PROJECTS 39 

value to you as a permanent record? Will help 
you make the situation clear to others? Will en- 
able you to present a helpful report? 

d. What data should be recorded and preserved? 

e. What value is there in listing these problems as you 

go? 

f. What results should be reported? 

g. What judgment do you now pass upon your work? 
h. What improvement can you suggest? 

i. What notes will you take during the report to the 
general secretary or the group? 

3. To whom, and how, shall the report be presented ? 

a. From which of the three forms of report given above 

will the young secretary gain the greatest benefit? 

b. Which will give the senior secretary the best line 

on the junior's ability, growth, and needs? 

c. Which will be of most value to the Association ? 

4. What sort of comment upon the report will be help- 

ful? 

a. What part has criticism in this comment? 

b. What part has commendation? 

c. How much of the necessary criticism will the group 

provide ? 

5. Under what circumstances should the project be reas- 

signed to the same or another member of the group? 

III. The Choice and Sequence of Projects 

A discussion of the process of selecting projects and build- 
ing a course of study or ''curriculum" may be helpful. The 
problem as it presents itself might be stated thus : How shall 
I choose and arrange the projects that are to make up that part 
of my junior secretaries' experience which I desire to have 
definite educational values? 

1. Selecting Projects 

The work done in Chapter I in breaking up the Association 
vocation into its parts, elements, or tasks, provides a list of ac- 
tivities and functions from which to choose our projects. Ob- 
viously all these tasks cannot be assigned to a man in one year, 
perhaps not in two years. Nor can all of the tasks a man per- 
forms be organized as educational projects. There is not time 



40 TRAINING A STAFF 

enough available for the thorough process of study, execution, 
report, and discussion involved. But a fully satisfactory solu- 
tion of this problem is readily found. Here it is. Select such 
parts of the work as will illustrate the chief processes and prin- 
ciples of the vocation, such .projects as will introduce the 
young secretary to the typical methods of the secretaryship and 
representative facts of the Association. These representative 
elements are sometimes referred to as "type situations," or "life 
situations." 

If. in the handling of a limited number of typical situations 
the student is taught to observe their characteristics carefully, 
formulate or state his problem, locate the difficulties, secure and 
organize data, use books of reference, interview, decide upon a 
plan of action, apply his knowledge, and test his results, he will 
develop secretarial ability. He will progressively be able "to 
do," "to solve problems," and "to meet complex situations." 
He will gain "power equal to his needs as they confront him 
in life." 

In making up a selected list of projects, three possibilities in 
reference to each will be kept in mind. 

a. Some projects are prescribed because they are essential 
and fundamental, and they should by all means be executed. 

b. Some are elective, and may be undertaken if there is time. 

c. A third list will be made up of projects in which there is 
no attempt to go through the whole educational process. The 
procedure is short-circuited or curtailed. For instance, the 
cash may be balanced without either the executive or the 
student having prepared a project outline, and there may be no 
formal discussion of the project following its completion. The 
educational experience of having done it, however, is secured. 

The functional as well as the departmental characteristic of 
the project should be considered in making the selection. For 
instance, skill in promoting is important; but planning, super- 
vising, and teaching are also necessary elements of a #man's 
equipment. Experience in all the functions of the secretary- 
ship should be provided so far as is possible. A good dis- 
cussion of some of these will be found in C. K. Ober's book, 



PROJECTS 41 

"The Association Secretaryship," pp. 22-37, published by As- 
sociation Press. 

Character values should also be taken into account. Many 
of them can be cultivated in connection with almost any large 
project, so this consideration may not lead to the choice of 
one task as against another; but the growth of such elements 
of personality as accuracy, system, courtesy, tact, perseverance, 
truthfulness, reliability, industry, aggressiveness, and refine- 
ment should be definitely planned for, watched for during 
supervision of each man's work, and patiently and tactfully 
brought about. Such corporations as Westinghouse Electrical 
and Manufacturing Company of Pittsburg, and the Common- 
wealth Edison Company of Chicago grade their executives-in- 
training in these things from time to time on blanks printed 
for that purpose. 

The importance of these character qualities has gained other 
weighty recognition. The War Department of our Govern- 
ment gave large significance to them in the grading of officers 
in the Army. Among the qualities they selected for these rat- 
ings are : Leadership, self-reliance, initiative, decisiveness, 
tact, ability to secure the cooperation of men, loyalty, reliability, 
sense of duty, carefulness, perseverance, and the spirit of serv- 
ice. The famous investigation by Prof. Chas. R. Mann, of the 
Carnegie Foundation, as to the elements that should enter into 
the education of an engineer found that such results of training 
as integrity, initiative, resourcefulness, and so forth were even 
more vital to success in the profession than technical skill it- 
self. These things being so in the military and engineering 
realms, how much more must these qualities of character be 
valued in an Association secretary ! Surely our training proc- 
esses must provide for their discovery and growth. And 
where will they be so revealed and given a chance to develop as 
in the carrying out of regular projects? 

In short, in building a curriculum of projects we must have 
three things in mind as we make our choice of tasks : 

Projects that will develop a skilful workman. 

Projects that will provide exercise of a variety of functions. 



42 TRAINING A STAFF 

Projects that will exercise certain qualities of character. 
None of these desired results "just happen." They must be 
consciously set up and encouraged. 

2. The Sequence of Projects 

What factors will determine the order in which the various 
projects will be undertaken? 

First, the time of the year. Some things are done only in 
September, some only in January. 

Second, the degree of difficulty. Some projects are simple, 
and even a beginner is equal to them. The more difficult must 
naturally come with growing powers. 

Third, departmental considerations. The projects might all 
be chosen from one department for a while, and later from 
another. 

Fourth, unanticipated situations and special enterprises aris- 
ing in the course of the year which can be broken up into good 
projects. 

However, while careful and progressive work will require 
the planning of many projects months in advance, even to the 
extent of scheduling a fairly set course of study or "curriculum 
of projects," many of the most profitable projects will be de- 
vised by the young secretaries themselves, and will be proposed 
by them from time to time. Welcome and encourage such pro- 
cedure. The self-devised undertaking of the student has more 
possibilities for education than most of those you can assign 
him. A sense of personal interest, ownership, responsibility 
for success, and enthusiasm will attach to these original proj- 
ects that will not often accompany the task that is thought out 
and assigned by another. Here the creative instinct is opera- 
tive, and a man's deepest sense of personality and independence 
is satisfied. The "psychology" of the situation is all in favor 
of the plans the junior himself makes to meet a need he has 
himself discovered. 

IV. Summary 

The first step in project teaching is the preparation of a list 



PROJECTS 43 

of projects. The second is the outlining of the single projects. 
The third is the assigning of the project. The fourth is the 
execution, and the fifth is the report and discussion of the 
project. Project outlines consist chiefly of a series of carefully 
prepared questions, which help the student to locate the difficul- 
ties and think the task through. A project is assigned to a 
student in one of three ways : a discussion of a previously pre- 
pared outline, an outline worked up in conference, or one pre- 
pared by the student alone before consultation. Of these three 
the last has the highest educational value. The execution of 
the project should lead to a broadening study of related mat- 
ter. A report and discussion of the task is an important part 
of the process. Limits of time preclude the possibility of a 
large number of projects being undertaken in this thorough 
way, so only typical ones are chosen. They should be given 
character, as well as technical, value. The sequence of the 
projects will be determined by consideration of season, sim- 
plicity, and special need. 

V. Suggested Projects 

The projects given here are based on the work of a certain 
Association of 1,800 members and a staff of twelve secretaries. 
Each Association will need to prepare a list based on its own 
activities. The one that follows is not complete; it is a sug- 
gestion only. 

Front Office, or Lobby Counter 

1. Answer the 'phone properly. 

2. Receive cash and issue receipts. 

3. Issue a set of checkers and keep a record. 

4. Collect dormitory rent and post record. 

5. Call up directors to remind them of meeting. 

6. Deal with a "down-and-out" visitor. 

7. Lend books from the library and keep record. 

8. Check incoming magazines and file in reading room. 

9. Keep bulletin board up-to-date. 

10. Handle incoming mail. 

11. Check laundry in and out. 

12. Revise the boarding house record. 



44 TRAINING A STAFF 

Religious Work 

i. Secure a speaker for a meeting. 

2. Plan the advertising for a meeting. 

3. Manage the ushering for a meeting. 

4. Work up and teach a Bible class. 

5. Run a shop meeting. 

6. Work up a gospel team. 

7. Lead a young people's meeting. 

8. Teach a Sunday school class. 

9. Lead a prayer meeting. 

10. Give an address in a church. 

11. Help in a religious interview system. 

12. Do and report on personal work. 

13. Advise with a pastor on some religious work plan. 

14. Promote the Association's foreign work interests. 

15. Relate a newcomer to a key man, for follow-up. 

16. Promote the use of religious books. 

17. Prepare a Bible study exhibit in the lobby. 

18. Follow up Bible class absentees. 

19. Work up a men's weekly Bible study supper. 

20. Handle the Sunday afternoon fellowship supper. 

21. Get a man to attend church with you. 

Educational Work 

1. Canvass prospective students. 

2. Prepare advertisements for educational classes. 

3. Enroll students. 

4. Work up chapel meeting. 

5. Take charge of chapel meeting. 

6. Promote a reading club. 

7. Secure teachers for night school. 

8. Keep a record of enrolment and attendance. 

9. Make a comparative study of this and last year's statis- 

tics. 

10. Observe a class in English, arithmetic, etc. 

11. Follow up absentees. 

12. Conduct an educational forum. 

13. Develop cooperation with the public library. 

14. Outline the content of a course of study. 

Membership Work 

1. Prepare a list of prospects. 

2. Prepare an advertising booklet. 

3. Prepare a newspaper display ad. 

4. Prepare a window card. 



PROJECTS 45 

5. Write a newspaper story to secure members. 

6. Canvass stores and shops for membership prospects. 

7. Secure new members. 

8. Secure renewals. 

9. Make membership collections. 

10. Show a prospect over the building. 

11. Promote a weekly New Members' Supper. 

12. Organize a membership committee, or use it. 

13. Keep membership records and issue cards. 

14. Relate new members to volunteer service. 

15. Compare your statistics with those of other cities. 

16. Interview new men on the spirit and aim of the Associa- 

tion. 

Social Work 

1. Promote a billiard tournament. 

2. Promote a bowling tournament. 

3. Promote a checker or chess tournament. 

4. Organize an outing to a place of interest. 

5. Organize a hike into the country. 

6. Organize an over-night camp. 

7. Promote an Association Open-House Night. 

8. Promote a social for a special group. 

9. Promote a dormitory party. 

10. Work up a social for the employes of a large plant. 

11. Work up a college men's banquet. 

12. Show new members over the building. 

13. Organize and direct a "hospitality squad." 

14. Organize a social sing around the piano. 

15. Prepare bulletins advertising events. 

16. Discover and visit sick young men. 

Boys' Department 

1. Run a "Bean Supper" for employed boys. 

2. Teach a boys' Bible class. 

3. Help in a boys' extension club. 

4. Tend the office a period. 

5. Serve as Scoutmaster of a troop of Boy Scouts. 

6. Speak at a high school dinner. 

7. Meet with the inner circle of the Hi-Y Club. 

8. Secure an adult leader for a boys' group. 

9. Visit local point of interest with boys. 

10. Organize an educational club for stamps, or wireless. 

Business Office 
1. Order supplies. 



46 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. Check supplies received with goods ordered. 

3. Check bills with goods ordered and received. 

4. Check the cash and entries for the day. 

5. Pay insurance premiums. 

6. Pay bills and file receipts. 

7. Inspect the building as to cleanliness and repair. 

8. Gather data for the monthly report. 

9. Arrange distribution of advertising matter. 

10. Write a letter of thanks for a subscription. 

11. Send out monthly membership renewal notices. 

12. Check membership receipts. 

13. Assist in preparing a budget. 

14. Revise the mailing list. 

15. Prepare the monthly pay-roll. 

Miscellaneous 

1. Attend and report to a committee meeting. 

2. Attend and report to a directors' meeting. 

3. Report an event for the daily papers. 

4. Write a news report for Association Men. 

5. Issue the regular news letter or bulletin. 

6. Run a campaign for subscribers to Association Men. 

7. Attend and help promote a gymnasium class. 

8. Assist a man who is looking for job. 

VI. Long Term, or Major Projects 

In order to secure a clear understanding of project teaching 
and not inject too many elements into our thinking about it, 
most of the projects so far considered have been short-term, or 
single-act, projects, such as getting a member or securing a 
committee meeting. We now consider another kind — long- 
term projects, such as leading a Bible class for a whole season, 
building up a new department, for example work for high 
school boys, or bringing about proper cooperative relations be- 
tween the Association and the local churches. 

The difference between these major projects and the briefer 
ones we have described is one of time. These longer ones are 
superior in that they offer better opportunity for the introduc- 
tion of related study, for the discovery of lines of profitable 
reading, and for the use of this information in furthering the 
project. 



PROJECTS 47 

Perhaps the chief value of the long project is that it gives 
the student a chance to apply and study in operation the great 
fundamental movement-building ideas that underlie the As- 
sociation enterprise, the principles upon which it is built — type 
situations in the larger sense. Illustrations of these ideas are : 
the Association is a layman's organization directed and actually 
operated by laymen ; the study of the Bible has a vital place 
in building Christian character; as an arm of the Church we 
seek the interests and welfare of the body ; the acceptance and 
following of Jesus are essential to fullest manhood; bodily 
health has a close relation to social, spiritual, and mental health. 

What projects express these dynamic ideas and embody them 
in operation? Devise them and relate the secretaries-in-train- 
ing to their development, with time to work them out and in- 
itiative of inventing or adapting means. The young secretary 
will thus learn that the work of the Association is not just a 
series of interesting though unrelated stunts, but is the consecu- 
tive concrete form the great ideas have taken. He will become 
at home in these ideas and himself produce new expressions of 
them; he will become a thinker, an inventor of processes and 
not merely a copier of plans. The Association movement will 
gain growing significance to him, and open vistas of interesting 
experiment and work from which he will not easily turn aside 
for less vital and rewarding occupations. 

It will be seen at once what an incentive such projects are 
to real study, the related study discussed in an earlier section. 
McMurry points out that knowledge is best acquired in wholes 
that have a relation to the achievement of some clear-cut and 
useful end. This movement toward a definite end, plus the. 
knowledge related to its achievement, constitutes a project in 
the educational sense. Facts and theories, so far as they are 
really acquired, are acquired in connection with the securing 
of some definite purpose. Principles that are used lose all ab- 
stractness and vagueness. They cease to be "static informa- 
tion" and become part of "dynamic ability." The major proj- 
ect is the finest incentive to practice in the use of knowledge. 

The process of finding the difficulties involved in an enter- 



48 TRAINING A STAFF 

prise, of relating data to the solution of the problems, of assign- 
ing the task, hearing reports upon it, etc., is the same in either 
short or long projects. The major project is merely a series 
of closely related minor projects, all of which yield to the same 
treatment. A good sample outline of an undertaking involving 
a long period of time and many minor tasks will be found in 
"Vocational Agricultural Education," by R. W. Stimson, page 
119 and following. It will repay careful study. 

It might be well at this stage of your reading to take one of 
the above-mentioned major projects, the one on church coopera- 
tion for instance, and try your hand at preparing an outline. 
Proceed on the basis that you are going to ask one of your 
associates to undertake to bring about better cooperation be- 
tween your Association and the churches of your city. The 
following questions asked of yourself will help you in your pre- 
liminary study of the project, help you break it open for close 
examination. 

In what aspects of this enterprise will my associate be in- 
terested? 

What difficulties will he encounter? 

Upon what points will he have to make decisions? 

Where will he need help? 

From what sources can he secure this help by interview or 
reading? 

Into what minor projects can this major project be broken? 

What will be his first steps in getting the propect under way ? 

Remember you are not to tell him the results of your study. 
You are to think this through so as to find the channels into 
which his thought should be directed, and then ask him ques- 
tions which will set his mind thinking along these and other 
profitable lines. Here reread this chapter from II 1 b, page 25, 
through II 2 b, page 33. 

VII. References 

1. The Project Method. W. H. Kilpatrick. A pamphlet re- 
print from The Teachers' College Bulletin for Oct. 12, 1918. 
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 



PROJECTS 49 

2. Vocational Agricultural Education. R. W. Stimson. A 
good presentation of the theory of project teaching, with illustra- 
tive outlines. Read pages 32-98, 1 19-126. 

3. The Project Method in Education. M. E. Branom. The 
most helpful portions are the Preface and Chapters 1, 2, 6, 10, and 
15. A fine bibliography in the back of the book. 

4. The Home Project. Bulletin 21, Agricultural Series No. 3, 
Federal Board for Vocational Education, Washington, D. C. Free. 
Valuable in a study of project outlines. 

5. The Cooperative System of Education. Bulletin 37, 19 16, 
U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. Free. 

6. A Study of Engineering Education. C. R. Mann, Bulletin 
11, Carnegie Foundation. A valuable study of education for a 
profession, and the relation of project study to vocational prepara- 
tion. Read especially pages 54-66, 87-94. 

7. Manuals for "Carpenters," and "Machinists," issued by the 
W T ar Department Committee on Education and Special Training, 
Washington, D. C. Free. A number of project outlines, some- 
what hastily prepared but illuminating and well worth studying. 

8. Teaching by Projects. C. A. McMurry. Represents a dif- 
ferent use of the term, but has many stimulating and helpful ideas. 

9. Democracy and Education. John Dewey. Not an easy 
book to read, but it contains the fundamental philosophy of this 
method. 

10. What Is Education? E. C. Moore. A fine readable book 
on the present-day conception of the sort of education that is 
worth while. 

11. The Curriculum. Franklin Bobbitt. A study of what to 
study and how. 

12. Project Teaching. Article in School Science and Mathe- 
matics, for Jan. 1919, pp. 50-62. 



CHAPTER III 

CLASS-ROOM WORK 

Analysis 

I. What Type Produces the Best Results ? 

1. The tests of class work 

a. Thought 

b. Mutual search for truth 

c. Growth 

d. Change of action 

e. Solution of problems 

f. Motive 

g. Participation 

2. What class-room method meets these tests? 

a. The lecture method 

b. The recitation method 

c. The seminar method 

d. The discussion method 

II. Problem-Discussion Procedure 

i. Just what takes place during this sort of class period? 

2. The teacher's outline : Membership illustration 

3. Comment on the questions 

4. The assignment 

5. An analysis of the class period 

6. The teacher's function 

7. The student's part in the discussion 

8. Branorri quoted 

III. Some Elements of Problem Teaching 

1. The selection of problems for discussion 

2. The preparation of teaching outlines 

3. Breaking the problem open 

Problem 

What method or type of class-room work will produce the 
best results in preparing young secretaries for immediate and 

50 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 51 

future executive leadership f What should be the content of 
the course of study? 

I. What Type of Cl ass-Room Procedure Produces the 
Best Results? 

1. The Tests of Class Work 

W T hat tests shall we apply to what goes on in the class room 
to see if it is helpful? By what standards shall we measure 
these periods spent together? What results shall we look for; 
if found, pronounce the method good; and if lacking, question 
the process? 

a. Thought: The class hour should be, as Dewey puts it, 
"a place and time for stimulating and directing reflection." It 
is not a time in which the student merely recalls and recites 
what he has read. Nor is it a time for listening to lectures. 
The best teachers have recognized this and are discarding the 
lecture method. It is a time for the consideration of prob- 
lems, of search for solutions, the weighing and evaluating of 
suggestions and data, or proposing and examining suggested 
ways out, or arriving at tentative conclusions to be tested by 
reason and, as soon as possible, by action. This is what 
thought means. The securing of these things is the highest 
use of a class period. Apply this test: Did the students 
thoughtfully grapple with a problem, or did they merely re- 
think another man's thoughts after him? The former is good; 
the latter varies from less good to useless. 

This thinking should have four characteristics : It should 
be purposeful, judicious, logical, independent. 

b. Mutual search for truth: If the teacher and the students 
work together in an honest effort to find the truth about a mat- 
ter, the class period is pretty sure to be helpful to all con- 
cerned. Class periods in which the teacher assumes that he 
already knows all the truth and reads or talks it off are not 
productive of mental growth; nor are classes in which the 
unalterable truth is recited from the latest textbook — not even 
this one. "Let us proceed together toward the truth" would 
be a good motto for the front of any class room. 



52 TRAINING A STAFF 

c. Growth: Has the class hour produced growth? At the 
end of a class period the student should leave the room having 
genuinely grown because of his participation in what took 
place. A class in which the teacher is doing all or most of the 
work is not resulting in much growth for the students. Apply 
this test to classes you have seen. The period has been a suc- 
cess if there is a difference between what the student knows 
and can do at the beginning and what he knows and can do at 
the end of the hour. 

d. Change of action : If the student does not in some way or 
situation act differently as a result of the class period, can it 
have been worth while? It should result in some change of 
action, some modification of conduct or procedure. In a Bible 
class, this is obvious. It is equally true of a class in Associa- 
tion methods, and of a class in Association principles. It is a 
severe test, but it is recognized today by educators as valid and 
essential. Ask yourself, during any class period, "Will any one 
in any way act or do differently as a result of this period to- 
gether?" If you answer "No," question the worth-whileness 
of what was done or said. Change of action will be due to a 
change of thought about something, for a man's thoughts are 
the root of his acts. The best evidence of this change of 
thought is a change in the way the student acts in some life 
situation — better membership solicitation, more skilful teach- 
ing, accuracy in checking bills. 

e. Solution of problems : Were any real live issues discussed, 
any genuine problems examined ? Did the material brought out 
help any one solve some difficulty that was troubling him ? Did 
real help come out of the meeting? If no live issue was in- 
volved and no solutions examined, could the subject-matter 
have mattered much? Might it not just as well have been left 
out, and the time have been devoted to something that made 
a difference? 

f . Motive : A class-room method is a success if its use stim- 
ulates the students to real mental effort on worth-while tasks. 
The stimulation we have in mind is not the pressure of com- 
pulsion from some other person or system, but the urge of 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 53 

inner desire. When the students come eagerly to class, believ- 
ing they are going to get help on a real problem, get it, and 
attack with zeal the matter to be studied for the next period, 
the process is a good one ; the students are "motivated." Ab- 
sence of this motivation indicates a poor teaching system or 
very poor use of a good system. In Dewey's apt phrase, the 
student should feel "the bite" of a real question. To solve that 
problem, he will think, discuss, study, and act with a genuine 
inner motive. If the class periods deal with real issues in the 
lives and work of the students, such motive will be generated. 
The core of motive is interest, and the core of interest is a prob- 
lem for which the student wants a solution. The class dis- 
cussion must also generate motive for further study and ex- 
perimental action. 

g. Participation : In the best teaching, the student partici- 
pates more than as a listener. Listening is not enough. The 
more of the man that is engaged in the learning process, the 
better the results. There must be self-expression. Therefore 
a good class-room procedure provides that the student shall 
take part with his ears, his eyes, his mouth, his hands, his 
mind — as much of him as is possible. His mental participation 
will take the form of effort to locate difficulties in situations, 
consider solutions, formulate opinions, estimate the value of 
the ideas of other students as they present them, and come to 
personal conclusions, and will issue in occasional statements as 
his contribution to the process. The student will participate in 
all these ways when the question is in some way vital to him. 

2. What Class-Room Method Meets These Tests? 

These tests are severe ones. They go to the very heart of the 
matter. Most of the teaching we have seen and done would 
fail to meet one or more of them. If they are true tests, how- 
ever, we are bound to seek to acquire a method for our own use 
that possesses the possibility of some day measuring up to them 
as we grow in skill. Surely we will drop any method which can 
never by any chance, or the attainment of perfection in it, reach 
this level of good teaching. We will briefly examine the more 



54 TRAINING A STAFF 

common methods and see which offers the best chance of a 
high score. 

a. The lecture method: On the last named test, participa- 
tion of the student, it ranks the lowest of all methods. Con- 
sider how little of the student, mind and body, is involved in 
listening to a lecture, even when he is taking notes. As Pro- 
fessor Moore says, "It is a peculiarly unsuccessful method of 
teaching." Put the test of "thought" to it. If the student stops 
to think about any statement he fails to catch the speaker's 
further remarks. Try "mutual search for truth." There can, 
of course, be no mutuality when one man does all the talking 
and the other only listens. Some growth may result, but not 
so much as when there is participation. Action may be modi- 
fied and sometimes is. The motivation of the listener to a lec- 
ture is generally weak. The lecture has the further weakness 
that it covers a far greater amount of matter than the hearer 
can use or digest. 

These considerations have led most real educators to drop 
lecturing for other methods of class-room procedure. But 
what about all these college professors who lecture? Most of 
them are specialists in some area of learning, but have given 
little thought to the processes of teaching their subject, and are 
not educators in a correct sense of the word. They are chem- 
ists, historians, sociologists, and so forth. Many of them look 
with scorn upon the idea of studying the technique of teaching; 
their lectures are the best evidence of their low estimation of 
the science or art of class-room method. 

When a class meets, there are three factors present — the 
teacher, the text, or subject-matter, and the student. Modern 
educators consider the student the center of education and the 
most important factor of the three. But the lecturer, by his 
monopoly of the situation, says that he, the teacher, is the 
most important. 

b. The recitation method : In the proper use of the word, 
this is an occasion on which students reproduce to the teacher 
things they have read in a lesson assignment. At its worst, it 
is a phonographic repetition of words committed to memory; at 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 55 

its best, a reciting of what others have said. The facts studied 
are given to the teacher in response to test questions, which 
usually call only for matters of recorded fact, and seldom for 
personal opinion. Where the work rises above this level, it 
becomes just to that extent not a recitation, but a discussion, 
and is to that extent good. Apply some of the seven tests 
given above, and draw your own conclusions as to the educa- 
tional value of real recitations. Take the test of thought. Is 
the thought exercised in a recitation motivated by a worth- 
while purpose? Does it call for the use of judgment? To 
what extent does it require logical organization of data? How 
much independence does the recitation method encourage? 

Recitations have one favorable quality ; they reveal whether 
the student has studied his text, or not. But this result can be 
secured so much better by the use of other methods (problem- 
discussion and project work), that it can scarcely be consid- 
ered an argument in favor of recitations as a class-room pro- 
cedure. 

In the recitation, the textbook is considered the important 
factor or element, and the correct reproduction of its words or 
opinions constitutes success. Professor Moore calls it " a re- 
hearsal of what has been learned before the class exercise takes 
place." The writer of the article "Pedagogy," in the Inter- 
national Encyclopedia, says, "The minimum of advantage re- 
sults if the time be spent in saying lessons learned memoriter 
from a book or in reciting facts more or less known to all the 
class. A class exercise is at its best when the class is engaged 
upon some problem towards the solution of which each one, 
including the teacher, from his peculiar point of view, con- 
tributes his proper share." 

c. The seminar method : There is much to be said in favor 
of this method of work, consisting of "research work carried 
on by the students under the direction of a teacher." The 
students meet at regular intervals "for the discussion of reports 
on special research conducted by one of their number." For 
most purposes, however, it is a heavy method and not reward- 
ing to all the members of the class. As all the students are 



56 TRAINING A STAFF 

there working on different problems, the discussions are not 
vital enough to the men not reporting, participation is not suf- 
ficiently provided for, and the element of mutual search for 
truth becomes a watching of others' search for different truths. 

d. The discussion method: This method, when it is pre- 
pared for and conducted in accordance with the best practice, 
seems to meet all the requirements. Recent developments in 
the technique of discussion as a means of education make it the 
most helpful, rewarding, and stimulating of all class-room 
methods. This procedure is called "problem teaching," teach- 
ing by the discussion of problems. We will devote a section 
to making the process clear, and then one to the question of 
how to conduct such classes. 

In discussion classes, the student is the important factor of 
the three. Not what the text says or what the teacher says, 
but the student's growth is the vital thing. His personality, his 
ability to reason, what he becomes able to produce — these and 
similar values are chiefly considered, rather than what the 
teacher says or the book says. The work falls upon the 
student. He has to find the problems, gather the data, consider 
suggestions, suggest the solutions, weigh others' propositions, 
and verify or test these in some sort of action. 

II. Problem-Discussion Procedure 

i. Just What Takes Place during This Sort of Class Period? 

a. The teacher or leader, in introductory remarks, centers the 
attention of the students upon a problem which is vital to them 
all. Frequently he will set the problem or lead to a discussion 
of it by asking a question which looks into the experience of 
each man present. For instance, he asks, "What real leaders 
in the work of the Y M C A have you known or known about ?" 
After all or most of the group have replied, he asks, "What 
makes these men leaders?" At once he has a discussion 
started on the essentials of religious leadership. 

b. The second step is the mental one of suspending judg- 
ment until the data has been examined and hypotheses tested. 

c. The third step is the gathering of data, or the presenta- 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 57 

tion of material drawn from reading or experience of a per- 
sonal nature. The problem and this data might be put upon 
the blackboard so as to keep it well in hand. These sugges- 
tions are carefully considered. Irrelevant matter is rejected 
by the students or questioned by the leader. For this purpose, 
the meeting must be "so conducted that the emphasis will fall 
on reflection rather than on mere reproduction." He will ask 
few who, when, and where questions and many beginning with 
"Why." 

d. This material should lead to some conclusion or hypoth- 
esis that solves or appears to solve the problem. 

e. This is carefully tested by the group until they think the 
problem solved. Some may not agree. They have that 
privilege. 

f. The application of this conclusion or solution is discussed, 
and the action that grows out of it decided upon. It is tested 
in actual experience as soon as possible. All this discussion 
may take more than one meeting. Further reading or inves- 
tigation may be necessary before a conclusion can be reached, 
or the time for the close of the period may arrive. If so, the 
leader and group decide upon what to do in preparation for 
the next discussion period. This is the lesson assignment. 

2. The Teacher s Outline 

The teacher prepares for a class of this sort by writing out a 
series of questions which will first center interest and attention 
on a live problem, then help find the "hot spot" in the problem, 
then draw out ideas bearing on the question, lead to a conclu- 
sion which will solve the problem, summarize the discussion, 
and, at the end, formulate applications, or things to do growing 
out of the conclusion reached. All this by questions. Here is 
an outline that we have used with a group of younger secre- 
taries : 

PROBLEM : What should be the meaning of membership in 
the YMCAf 

I. a. What reasons do you give men for becoming members 
of your Association? 



58 TRAINING A STAFF 

b. What is your strongest appeal? 

c. What is the chief purpose in the minds of men who 

join? That they are hiring someone to provide 
privileges for them, or that they are investing money 
in an enterprise in which they are partners? 

d. In how far is the appeal to men to have a part in the 

enterprise a practical basis of membership solicita- 
tion? 

2. a. What was the motive and purpose which impelled the 

members of the early London Association to band 
themselves together in membership? 

b. To what extent does this motive exist now in men who 

join your Association? 

c. In those who join the student Associations in the 

colleges ? 

3. How far should we make selling of privileges the basis 

of our membership solicitation ? 

4. Some folks say we should make willingness to have a 

part in the work of the Association a condition of 
membership. What is your opinion regarding this? 
What is the basis of church membership and finance? 
To what extent could you build an Association around 
the idea of service? 

5. In how far do your members actually share in making and 

carrying out the plans of the Association? To what 
extent should this be their responsibility? 

6. In view of this discussion, what would you say mem- 

bership in the Association should mean? 

7. Would we have fewer or more members on the basis of 

appeal to and requirement of service? What changes 
in our present handling of membership would be neces- 
sary? What effect would this have on the financing of 
the Association? 

8. Would these changes of membership basis increase or 

decrease the size of the task of the secretary? What 
changes do you feel it would make? 

3. Comment on the Questions 

The first question is a "point of contact" question, connecting 
with the daily experience of these young secretaries. The next 
is a transition question to introduce the problem, which is 
brought out by the third and fourth, all of the first series. The 
last one of the first series begins to draw out data on the phase 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 59 

of the problem upon which this discussion is planned to center. 
The leader believes this is a live question with the group. Ex- 
perience proves that it is. Question 2 a. introduces historical 
data that will help them to solve the problem. This is the 
scientific way of using history. Question 2 b. ties this his- 
torical data to the present day. Questions 3, 4, and 5 seek for 
more matter for consideration. Question 6 is put to secure a 
summary and a conclusion, or hypothesis. Question 7 a. b. and 
c. are put to test this conclusion. The two questions under 8 
are "application" questions, bringing out the actual bearing of 
the discussion on the lives of the students. 

4. The Assignment 

This discussion was not conclusive. A need for more data 
was felt. To secure it the following assignment was made : 

Brown, Write Boston and secure information as to their 
basis of active membership, and how it works. 

Smith, Investigate Knoxville's service membership. 

Jones, Learn what Philadelphia finds to be an acceptable 

membership basis. 

Green, What privileges do members of the Student Asso- 
ciation secure? 

Robinson, Get information on the Grand Rapids plan. 

Peters, Look up service membership in the boys' depart- 
ment. Read up in American Youth. 

All, 

1. Examine the ads of your Association and see to what 

motives they appeal. 

2. To what motives do you appeal in your personal solicita- 

tion? 

3. Try to secure a member purely on the appeal of a chance 

to serve. 

4. Consider the bearing of community work on this question. 

Absence of literature makes this particular data hard to se- 
cure. The assignment is generally much simpler, and should 
be. As a rule it will be limited to available reference books or 
readily conducted "projects" upon which the students will 
report. 



60 TRAINING A STAFF 

5. An Analysis of the Class Period 

After the meeting in which the above outline was used an 
analysis of the discussion was made, based on records kept by 
several observers. In this forty-one-minute period, the leader 
took part thirty-four times, and the students sixty-seven times. 
This was considered too much participation for the leader. It 
was due to the facts that the class had made no preparation, 
and that for this group the question was not vital enough. So 
they warmed up but slowly, and the teacher had to ask "prob- 
ing" questions in addition to his main questions. As to time oc- 
cupied, the leader used fifteen minutes, and the class twenty-six 
minutes. This was not considered so bad, but too much time 
was occupied by the teacher. There were a few short silent 
periods. Are these good or bad, and why? What is going on 
during these silences? 

The record shows that all the students took part, but that one 
was wordy, and one or two somewhat backward. This is the 
case in many classes. What measures would you take to bring 
out the backward ones and restrain the too forward member? 

6. The Teacher's Function 

The part of the leader in such a problem-discussion class as 
we are advocating includes these functions : 

a. He is chairman of the group, with a rather democratic 
interpretation of that word. As such he makes a careful in- 
troductory presentation of the topic, making the situation clear. 
This may take one to three minutes. 

b. He has thought into the situation to be discussed, and 
prepared an outline composed of questions that will help the 
students to locate the problem and its difficulties. These ques- 
tions he proposes from time to time as the discussion progresses 
and he deems the next question timely. 

c. He holds the discussion to the question ; but he does not 
rule out answers with which he disagrees, if they are on the 
topic. 

d. He summarizes the discussion from time to time, recog- 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 61 

nizing different viewpoints where they exist, as they frequently 
will. 

e. He exercises self-restraint, both in the matter of time he 
uses and in putting his own views forward to the checking of 
free discussion and preventing thought on the student's part. 

f . He occasionally introduces his own experience or data, but 
on the same basis as that offered by any student and not as 
settling the question. He gives it for what it is worth, and of 
this the group should be the judges. 

g. He draws out timid or reserved men and restrains the 
too talkative. 

h. He helps the group think through their problem. He 
makes the students think — and that means, to repeat the famous 
Dewey idea, to locate difficulties, gather and consider sugges- 
tions, draw conclusions, and test them — and express their 
thoughts. 

i. He does not lecture, but may at times introduce data not 
accessible to the students, or offer a suggestion; only in brief 
talking periods, however, and when that data is needed. 

j. He does not allow his own attitude on the subject to in- 
fluence the group unduly. At times he will not even reveal it. 
Rather than give solutions to problems, he sends the student 
to search for solutions. 

k. He makes the assignment for the next lesson, spending 
even as much as eight to ten minutes in getting the problems 
involved well before the class. He guides the students to rele- 
vant data, by giving references to be read. 

1. He watches for new points of view or data which he has 
not himself previously considered, and acknowledges this new 
point of view as such when it is presented. 

m. He studies each student's mental processes and charac- 
teristics. 

n. He sets tasks involving the testing of new conclusions. 

y. The Student's Part in the Discussion 

a. He considers the situation presented by the leader and 
helps to locate the problem involved. 



62 TRAINING A STAFF 

b. He then works with the others to help define the problem 
and find just where the situation presents difficulties. 

c. He contributes his point of view to the discussion, pre- 
senting such data and opinion as he thinks will bear upon the 
solution of the problem. 

d. Meanwhile, he suspends judgment until the evidence has 
all been brought in. 

e. He asks questions for information, or to reveal the weak- 
ness in another man's position. 

f. He answers similar questions from the teacher and his 
fellow-students. 

g. He carefully considers the contribution of other men, get- 
ting and weighing evidence. Some he questions, some he re- 
jects, some he accepts. He modifies his own position to square 
with this new data. 

h. He arrives at a conclusion, and ventures to suggest his 
solution or opinion. 

i. He then proceeds to test his conclusion and presents it 
for others to test. 

j. He decides that he must have further data on certain 
points, and asks for or is given references bearing upon it. He 
plans certain study and experimentation. 

k. The students may not all agree. There may be a variety 
of opinion. Perhaps only longer experience can determine 
which view is correct, or better. 

1.. After class, he tests his conclusions in some appropriate 
action. In the resulting situation he locates new problems for 
the next discussion. 

m. He prepares for the next class period. 

n. He keeps notes, both on the group discussion and on his 
personal study and experience. 

8. Branom Quoted 

An excellent summing up of the method of discussion will 
be found on pages 159 to 161 of Branom's ''The Project 
Method in Education.'' It is too long to quote, but should 
be read by those who intend to use this method. The following 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 63 

quotation, though long, is so helpful that it must be reproduced 
here. It. is from the same work, and begins on page 167. 

"It will be noted that the project-problem has a fourfold as- 
pect: (1) Preparatory step, involving a consideration of ma- 
terial out of which a problem may arise. In many instances the 
solving of one problem may give rise to another problem. The 
character of the preparatory material used is important, since 
the problem and the initial interest of the class in the problem 
largely depend on it. 

"(2) Problem raised. A problem is raised and concisely 
stated. Spontaneous self -activity of pupils should be sought. 
A problem is secured in an ideal fashion when the pupils raise 
it. It may be necessary, however, for the teacher to assist the 
pupils and occasionally even to raise the problem for the class. 
The significant thing is not that some pupil verbally shall state 
a problem but that the class shall have a need, a problem — ir- 
respective of how the need was created— which it wants to 
satisfy. Care should be exercised in the final statement of the 
problem, as succeeding work hinges on the definite expression 
of a problem worth while. 

"(3) Materials secured and interpreted. When the -class has 
a problem that it needs, or preferably wants, to solve, various 
sources of information, as textbooks, supplementary readers, 
pictures, maps, museum material, newspapers, magazines, and 
people, should be consulted for appropriate material. This 
material should be interpreted so as plainly to show its bearing 
on the solution of the problem. The teacher should not attempt 
to force her organization on the class. It is far better to accept 
the pertinent points made by the pupils in the order in which 
they are made, thus encouraging an easy flow of thought. The 
pupils should not be thinking, What does the teacher want us 
to say ? but, What does the solution of the problem demand ? 

"(4) Problem solved or material summarized. If the prob- 
lem has been solved, the solution should be stated by the class 
as accurately, as definitely, and as concisely as possible. The 
final statement should represent the team work of the class, 
if the problem is a group problem. It is not to be expected that 
a definite solution can always be secured, or that the individuals 
of the class will agree on the solution in all cases. In the actual 
problems of life, adults often analyze and weigh the factors 
concerned, postponing judgment. With respect to many prob- 
lems in life people have widely divergent views. It is the prov- 
ince of the teacher to work with the pupils, getting them to 



64 TRAINING A STAFF 

come to their own conclusions, after all the available evidence 
has been presented. All of the above steps need not and prob- 
ably will not appear in the same recitation. An entire recita- 
tion period, for example, may be devoted to a discussion of the 
preparatory material and the raising of a problem. It is not 
believed that the project-problem, as defined in this chapter, is 
the whole of educational endeavor, but it is believed that the 
project-problem should occupy an important place in school- 
room practice." 

III. Some Elements of Problem Teaching 

A consideration of some of the outstanding difficulties en- 
countered in the use of this method of teaching may be helpful 
to those who wish to initiate and conduct such discussion 
periods as a regular feature of their training program. 

i. The Selection of Problems for Discussion 

a. The problems to be discussed in the class periods grow 
out of the daily work of the members of the staff. At first 
thought this suggestion seems to many to be vague and unsat- 
isfactory. It seems too hit-or-miss, too unorganized. A little 
experimenting with finding the problems in the daily work soon 
results in the disappearance of this seeming difficulty. Skill in 
locating problems is developed and real pleasure is experienced 
in the process. Further, the students soon get into the game 
and themselves suggest the problems, the ideal situation. 

A day's work of a staff of six men is full of problems ; not 
all of them can be chosen for discussion. The progress will 
naturally be from the more simple to the more difficult, but all 
must be real to the men engaged in the discussion. 

Sometimes the work experience of different men will be so 
organized as to bring certain problems to the front. In the 
fall, membership problems ; at the beginning of the fiscal year, 
financial and budget problems. Where a graded series of proj- 
ects is used as a regular training process, the problems grow 
out of the projects and the class room becomes a place for the 
discussion of the difficulties encountered in the projects. 

This coordination of class discussion with the day's work is 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 65 

the element par excellence that makes the class period valuable 
and interesting. It also adds to the attractiveness of the day's 
work, and lends it new motive. Most training centers that have 
failed have failed for lack of just this element, the relation of 
class-room work to daily duties. Interest has waned because 
the discussions or lectures (they have generally been lectures) 
seemed to have no relation to the immediate daily life of the 
secretary-in-training. In the adoption of this plan lies the 
solution of that and related problems. 

b. Let each lesson, then, begin with a centering upon some 
problem that is live and real to at least some of the group. 
The series of problems that make up a course of study is de- 
termined upon in advance to this extent: 

(1) Some problems are foreseen. ' We know they will arise. 
We can count upon their being real whenever we bring them 
up. They are such questions as, Why do we have active and 
associate members? Why do we have members at all? Why 
do we serve men and boys only, and not women and girls and 
small children? Why doesn't the Church do this work? Why 
is it not self-supporting? How are we related to other 
YMCA's? 

(2) Some we plan to bring into the experience of the 
students by putting them into certain situations where these 
questions are sure to become real. Such as, What is our secre- 
tarial relation to laymen? What is the Association's relation 
to movements to create and enforce laws? 

(3) Some are seasonal, appropriate to certain annual or 
monthly events in our work. 

(4) Some, however, will arise very unexpectedly. A news- 
paper attacks the Association; a janitor is burned; an endow- 
ment gift is received; a prominent non-church member wants 
to know why he cannot hold office — these and many other un- 
planned situations furnish the finest sort of problems for group 
discussion, in the light of Association principles, history, and 
methods. Postpone the discussion you had planned, and use 
these events as the occasions of valuable education. 

(5) Finally, the launching of any new enterprise or move- 



66 TRAINING A STAFF 

ment or feature provides proper occasion for profitable class 
discussion. Use it. 

c. The philosophy of all this is that only such class discussion 
is profitable as relates to a real problem in the experience of the 
men of the group. Only when items of information bear upon 
the solution of a problem, the removal of an obstacle, the ac- 
complishing of some purpose, have they value as subject-mat- 
ter. When men actually face a " forked-road situation," and 
they can and must act in one way or another, then, and then 
only, is a class discussion worth while. Your problem as 
teacher is to see these situations in a day's work, seize them for 
class use, and at times create them for the broadening of your 
students' experience. "Skill in teaching is brought into play 
just here in staging situations which present difficulties and 
arouse in the mind of the learner a need for solutions." 

The wise teacher will not bring material into class for which 
the students feel no need, or for which no need can be readily 
awakened or aroused. Technically, the material of instruction 
is called subject-matter. But it is only subject-matter in the 
real technical sense when it is needed by the student. W. W. 
Charters says on this subject, "Subject-matter originates when 
some need, problem, dissatisfaction, or difficulty occurs. It is 
a way of acting in the attempt to satisfy needs, solve problems, 
remove dissatisfactions, and overcome difficulties. Its func- 
tion, then, is to solve problems, satisfy needs, and overcome 
difficulties." These needs, difficulties, and problems referred 
to are present ones in the life of the student, not remote or an- 
ticipated ones. (For the whole discussion of subject-matter, 
read "Methods of Teaching," by W. W. Charters, pages 
26-74.) 

John Dewey, America's greatest educational thinker, states 
a phase of this truth in a negative way, thus : "The assump- 
tion that information which has been accumulated apart from 
use in the recognition and solution of a problem may later on 
be freely employed at will by thought is quite false." The 
best educational thought has exploded the idea that you can lay 
up information for use in future situations. When the time 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 67 

comes to use it, it is not there. The only subject-matter that 
really "makes good" with us is subject-matter that we use now 
to help us out of some hole. It is the other sort, the "future 
useful" sort, that men have always condemned as "theoretical." 
It simply has never been squared and tested in some life task, 
so far as the would-be learner is concerned. On the other 
hand, the "present used" is thereafter the "future useful." 

d. This seems to limit greatly the amount of crystallized ex- 
perience that can be properly introduced into a discussion, or 
given to a student as assigned reading. A few words more 
from Dewey somewhat clear the air. "An experience, a very 
humble experience, is capable of generating and carrying any 
amount of theory (or intellectual contact)." The only point 
contended for here is that theoretical discussion apart from an 
actual situation to which the members of the group are parties 
is fruitless. But just as a large cup is carried by a small handle, 
so a small but vital experience can be made the handle by 
which one gets a good grasp on much theory. The experience, 
with its problem, is the absolutely essential handle. 

Summary. The principle of curriculum-building that we 
should employ, then, is this. Let class discussion be upon prob- 
lems that arise in the course of real daily experience. So fore- 
see and so organize this experience that it will include the situa- 
tions with which most secretaries have to deal. This handling 
of present problems is the only preparation for the future that 
educational thought can fully indorse as worth-while and fruit- 
ful. But this sort of preparation, this getting ready for life by 
living, has received the highest educational and psychological 
sanction. 

2. The Preparation of Teaching Outlines or Plans 

The wise teacher goes into class with a well-prepared outline, 
consisting of a series of definitely written questions with which 
he proposes to guide the discussion. He may see fit to depart 
from his outline to follow a good lead that develops during the 
class period. This is sometimes advisable. The fact of this 
possible abandoning of the outline should not count against its 



68 TRAINING A STAFF 

careful preparation. Real education does not result from 
"catch-as-catch-can" methods. 

Here is one way of preparing an outline : 

a. First step: Consider the group 

Center your thought upon some situation in the present ex- 
perience of your class which presents difficulties. This gives 
you the general topic, subject, problem, for the class period. 
Perhaps you are just launching some educational classes for 
young men, and the whole staff of ten secretaries is more or 
less related to it, especially the office staff and the educational 
and membership secretaries. The question of how to get 
students is a live one to some of the group, while perhaps the 
point of why should the Association conduct educational classes 
is the way in which the question lies in the minds of others. 
It is a " forked-road situation" to some, for their conviction or 
lack of it will make a difference in their actions in the matter, 
while to others the how aspects of the question are more vital 
than the whys. 

Careful consideration of the needs of all leads us to decide to 
present the why angles of educational work first, unify the 
group in a desire to do educational work, and then proceed to 
the hows, with a basis of conviction. 

b. Second step: Locate and define the problem 

The steps are not sharply separated. In fact, we have al- 
ready begun the second one. We decide that perhaps the ques- 
tion of the advisability or propriety of the Association conduct- 
ing class work is the general center of difficulty, so we choose 
as our general topic, Why should the Y M C A conduct educa- 
tional classes? 

Now we ask, just where do the men on our staff have diffi- 
culty with this question? Where do they have trouble? We 
are not entirely sure, so we will raise questions that have pre- 
viously troubled young secretaries, find the real "hot spot," and 
follow the lead of the discussion. Perhaps in personal con- 
versation in advance of the class hour we can locate these diffi- 
culties exactly. We decide that the following questions are 
vital to the group: 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 69 

What needs do Y M C A educational classes meet in men's 
lives ? 

Why should we not leave this work to the public night 
schools and correspondence schools? 

What relation has educational work to our central religious 
and character-building objective? 

c. Third step : Secure and consider suggestions and data 
bearing upon the problem 

We decide that the following points at least should be con- 
sidered : 

Large percentage of young men with no education beyond 
the seventh grade ; quit school at fourteen. The War revealed 
gross ignorance. 

General lack of vocational education. Public schools do not 
provide it. 

Ambitions of young men to advance and limited opportu- 
nities of education for employed boys and men. 

Lack of a character-building basis in schools run for private 
gain. 

The Y M C A ideal of fourfold manhood. 

Occupation of leisure hours to advantage. 

Opportunity for fine religious work with men. 

d. Fourth step: Adoption of a proposed solution of the 
problem 

This must have a "therefore" relation to the considerations 
examined under the third step. Harrison Elliott calls this step 
"the big idea." In large issues, it is dignified by the term 
hypothesis, or theory. It is our proposed solution. In our 
preparatory thinking through of the problem, we now decide 
upon this as our answer: 

In view of the points we have considered, the Y M C A 
should conduct educational classes for men and boys. It should 
be largely of a vocational nature, and come during the leisure 
hours of those concerned. 

While this is our present conclusion, the class after consider- 
ing the data presented in the discussion by the various mem- 
bers of the group may reach a different one, or may divide 



70 TRAINING A STAFF 

into two groups. Or the class may wish to study further 
before reaching a conclusion. Whatever the conclusion is, 
let the group reach it without compulsion other than that of 
facts. 

e. Fifth step: Resulting action, or application 

If the discussion is valuable just to the extent that it modi- 
fies conduct, results in action, our discussion should close with 
consideration of the things that should be done as a result of 
the data we have considered. Such action might be : 

A study of the educational or vocational needs of a certain 
group of men or boys. 

Interviews to enlist certain men or boys in classes related 
to their known needs. 

An investigation of what other night schools or correspond- 
ence schools are doing in the city, in order to locate needs 
poorly met, or not met at all. 

Reading references bearing on problems of Association edu- 
cational work revealed by the discussion. 

f . Sixth step : Finding a point of contact 

This is the last step in our preparation for the discussion, 
but naturally the first point in the discussion itself. We ask 
ourselves, what in the recent or present experience of at least 
some of the group can be used as a vivid introduction to the 
topic for the day's discussion ? Two suggestions occur to us. 

The public night school has just issued some good advertis- 
ing matter and some of our staff are concerned as to its effect 
upon our Association educational classes. 

Or 

Educational classes open two weeks from today and the en- 
rolling of students must be pushed. 

Of these two, we decide to use the former. 

We now have before us the materials for a class period. It 
could be used as the outline for a lecture. We prefer to use it 
as the basis of a discussion. Therefore our next step is to 
frame questions that will start a discussion of each of the 
points we have decided to present for consideration. This 
process yields such an outline as this ; 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 71 

Lesson Outline or Plan 
Point of contact 

You open by showing the men the new public night school 
advertisements, and ask, How many of you have seen this 
advertisement? What effect will this public school effort 
have upon the Association educational classes? 

What shall be our attitude toward it? 
Transition question 

What needs in the lives of men and boys does the public 
night school work meet? 
Locating the problem 

What needs does the Association night school work meet? 

To what extent should we compete with other agencies ? 
Why? 

What relation has our educational work to our central 
religious and character-building objective? 
Suggestions for consideration 

What did the War reveal as to illiteracy among American 
men? 

What percentage of young men and boys have had no 
schooling beyond the seventh grade ? 

What special preparation have they had for their present 
or any vocation? 

How much character-building effort is made by local 
schools run for private gain? 

To what extent are young men ambitious to advance in 
life? 

What relation has education to advancement? 

What relation has the use of leisure hours to education? 
To advancement? To character? 

How successfully can the Y M C A relate the use of leisure 
hours to education ? To advancement ? To character ? 
Tentative conclusion: Summing up question. 

What sort of educational classes, if any, should the 
YMCA conduct? 
Resulting action 

What group should we study to discover their educational 
needs ? 

Whom shall we undertake to enlist in educational classes? 

What educational needs of boys and men are at present 
inadequately met? 

What can we read to help us understand and do this work 
better ? 



72 TRAINING A STAFF 

Summary of results 

At the close of the discussion, the leader should seek to 
lead the men to sum up their conclusions in an analysis, 
which the leader writes on the board. This clarifies thinking 
and makes good provision for note-taking. Such summaries 
help organize the results of the discussion and reveal to the 
student that it has arrived somewhere and not just ended 
in the air. Study the art of clear and effective summary. 

j. Breaking the Problem Open 

After the topic for discussion has been decided upon and 
before he prepares his outline, the leader must examine it 
minutely to see all its angles, phases, and implications, es- 
pecially through the eyes of his group. See 2 a and b above. 
It has been found helpful to take a sheet of paper and write 
down suggestions and ideas under four heads, or questions. 
Write one of each of these questions at the head of a sheet of 
paper and proceed to break open the topic with their aid. The 
questions suggested are: 

1. Why are these students interested in this particular prob- 
lem? 

2. What decisions do they have to make in relation to it? 
What are the issues involved? 

3. Where do they have difficulties? 

4. Where do they need help? 

Be sure to find the forks in the road where the men have to 
make decisions, and see that these issues are thought through. 
Do not be afraid to bring out diversity of opinion. If you are 
going to have a group discussion, rather than a recitation, you 
must find issues, for it is only around places where opinion 
divides that you can have real live discussion. The problems 
lie at these points, and your chief educational aim is to see 
that the students acquire skill in methods of attacking and 
solving problems. 

This preparation will require time, perhaps as much as two 
hours for each class meeting. It is time well spent. Plan for 
it in advance, set aside and schedule these periods of prepara- 
tion, having them come a day or two in advance of the class 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 73 

meeting. Just before the meeting review your preparation, 
going over all your notes, both the preparatory material and 
your final list of questions. Do not expect to be able to use all 
the material you prepare, or unload all you know. Have a 
reserve fund. 



CHAPTER IV 
CLASS-ROOM WORK {Continued) 

Analysis 

III. Some Elements of Problem Teaching {Continued) 

4. The use of questions 

a. Kinds of questions 

b. Qualities of good questions 

c. Suggestions 

5. When and how to lecture 

6. Assigning the next lesson 

7. Reviews 

8. Class-room methods 

9. Examinations 

IV. The Student's Work in Preparation 
V. The Course of Study 

1. The class year 

2. Courses 

a. First year 

b. Second year 

c. Advanced year 

3. Special considerations 

4. Methods discussions 

5. Other uses of the problem method 

VI. References on the Discussion Method 

III. Some Elements of Problem Teaching {Continued) 

4. The Use of Questions 

During the War our soldiers in France became familiar with 
two kinds of shells. The first kind came over, went into the 
ground, and lay there inert. It had all the appearance and 
qualities of a shell, except that it did not explode when it was 
expected to by both the sender and the receiving parties. These 
shells that failed to go off were called "duds." The other kind 
came over, went into the ground, exploded, and threw the earth 

74 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 75 

up all around. Questions are just like shells. Some come over 
into the class and are expected by both teacher and students to 
explode, but nothing happens. All is silent and unrealized ex- 
pectation. Such questions are "duds." The other kind either 
produce an instant response from one or more students, or start 
lines of thought which quickly result in a general desire to 
reply. This kind go off. They stir the gray matter ; the effect 
upon the class is like a live shell going off in the loose earth. 

How can one make sure that his questions will go off, and 
not just lie inert? The matter is one of large importance, for 
good questioning is the very heart and center of the discussion 
method. As Charters says, "To question well is the highest 
achievement of the teacher." Is it a gift, or can this skill be 
acquired? The latter, most decidedly. 

Let us first look at a variety of questions and pick out the 
kind that explode when they hit the class. 

a. Kinds of questions 

(1) Development or discussional questions 

This sort of questions center thought about a problem and 
progressively lead to a locating of difficulties, gathering of data, 
weighing of these suggestions, and a conclusion. They "are 
framed in relation to a developing line of thought," lead to an 
end, start somewhere, and arrive. The series of questions 
about YMCA membership on page 58 are of this sort. The 
"what" questions set the problem and gather data. The "to 
what extent," "how," "how far," "your opinion" questions pro- 
voke evaluations of it and discussion, bring out points of view, 
stimulate thought. "Why" questions do the same. The 
"would" questions test the conclusion reached by the class. 
These are typical discussional questions; this order, however, 
is not a set formula to be followed. Other phrasing is possible. 

To secure a discussion, questions must raise or reveal an 
issue, define a problem, and center thought on difficulties with a 
view to finding a solution, a way out. They may require analy- 
sis of something. They call for evaluation of suggestions, and 
require the exercise of judgment. At times they propose com- 
parisons. They are a teacher's greatest tool. 



76 TRAINING A STAFF 

(2) Test questions 

These depend largely upon the student's memory of what he 
has read or done. They are the teacher's means of finding out 
if assignments have been read and understood. Where they 
are used, they should be phrased so as to lead a student to recite 
upon a whole topic, and not merely yield one statement at a 
time. There is little place for this sort of question in a discus- 
sion group ; its proper use is in the recitation method. 

(3) Factual questions 

These stand lowest in the educational scale, if indeed they 
stand in it at all. Who organized the Y M C A ? What con- 
vention adopted the evangelical test ? Such questions are value- 
less. They do not stimulate thinking apart from simple mem- 
ory, and the student does not grow in answering them. What 
we want is the fact plus the student's interpretation of it, his 
personal thought about it. On this basis the above questions 
might better be: Why was such an organization as the 
Y M C A needed by the group that organized it ? What is 
your opinion as to the wisdom of adopting the evangelical test? 
On what do you base it? The first requires analysis of a situa- 
tion, and the second a judgment. Both are valuable mental 
processes, with educational value. 

(4) Yes-or-no questions 

These are beyond the pale. Condemned in every court, they 
still stalk in our midst. The student guesses if he does not 
know, and it is fifty-fifty that he will be correct. Or it may be 
a dead certainty. The Y M C A was organized by George 
Williams, was it not? There is a simple device by which one 
can save the situation when he has inadvertently asked a yes- 
or-no question. After the answer ask "Why," or "Why do you 
think so?" 

There are times when you want the student to say yes or no. 
These, however, are occasions when your aim is a decision, not 
a recitation or a discussion. But you cannot get a discussion by 
using yes-or-no questions. When a student answers, his 
answer ends thought; and the object of educational questions 
is to get a lot of thought. 



CLASS-ROOM WORK ^ 

b. Qualities of good questions 

(i) They should stimulate thought. Measure your ques- 
tions by the amount and quality of thinking they secure. 

(2) They should open up a topic, not just get a fact. 

(3) They should present an issue leading to discussion by all 
in the group, "start something" in the class. 

(4) Where real good questions are used, this discussion will 
continue after the class has been dismissed, groups of two and 
three getting into animated conversation. 

(5) They direct along a path to a conclusion. 

(6) They should be single-barreled, containing only one 
idea. "Is the Y M C A a good thing for boys, or is the Boy 
Scouts better?" combines this double-barreled quality with the 
yes-or-no in addition. Both ideas are worth presenting, but 
they should be presented as two questions, and in different 
form, perhaps beginning with "why." 

(7) They should be simple, short, clear, and easily under- 
stood. 

(8) They should hook into the experience or reading or 
ability of the students 

(9) They must not indicate the answer. 

(10) Some, but only a few, may be asked to reveal to a 
student his areas of ignorance. 

(11) Let them be interesting. Odd or exaggerated ques- 
tions may attract temporary attention; to be vitally interesting 
they should relate to the needs and experiences of the mem- 
bers of the group. 

c. Suggestions 

(r) Once the discussion is started, questions should proceed 
from the students as well as from the teacher, and from 
students to each other. Encourage students to answer their 
own questions, but answer some yourself. 

(2) Ask your question with your eyes moving about over the 
class, then designate the person who is to answer it. This 
keeps the whole class alert and thinking. 

(3) Do not ask too many questions. Rapid fire is not pro- 
ductive of thought. But you can reduce the number to not over 



78 TRAINING A STAFF 

twenty or twenty-five only by carefully considering the quality 
of the questions to be asked. 

(4) When you ask a student a question, give him time to 
think out his answer and say it properly. Do not interrupt, be- 
come impatient, or allow others to cut in as long as he is mak- 
ing progress and shows signs of getting somewhere. Encour- 
age the use of well constructed sentences, spoken so all can 
hear. 

(5) Follow the lead of the students' questioning rather than 
your own outline, if their questions develop the topic. 

(6) Your best questions will be those based upon good or- 
ganization of material, thought out in advance, and all written 
out. Do not rely upon spontaneous combustion to produce 
good questions. 

(7) Prepare a question outline. It will consist of main 
questions with probing questions as subs, to be used in case the 
main question does not bring out the material you are seeking. 
Here is an illustration of a main and several probing questions. 

1. Why was an organization such as the Y M C A needed 
in London in the forties? If the response is not full and satis- 
factory, ask, 

a. What harmful social evils existed? 

b. What were the living conditions of clerks? 

c. What provision did the Church make for young people's 
interests ? 

(8) Not all things can be brought out in response to ques- 
tions. There is no use trying to pump water out of an empty 
cistern. Some things you will have to tell, which leads us to 
our next topic. 

5. When and How to Lecture 

With fear and trembling lest in granting an inch an ell — 
that's forty-five inches — be taken, we admit that there is a real, 
even a helpful, place for lecturing. Not a big place, however; 
just a little one. There are at least eleven different times when 
short lectures or talking periods are genuinely valuable. (But 
do not have them all occur in the same forty-five minute 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 79 

period. That is taking an ell !) The basis of legitimate lectur- 
ing is found in the fact that there are some units of subject- 
matter that simply cannot be pumped out of a class that does 
not possess them. Those units, however, are much fewer in 
number than many teachers suppose. 

a. When to lecture. Use brief lecture periods 

(1) To introduce new material not accessible to the group 
in private study, or that is needed at once before the discussion 
can proceed efficiently. This material may be the result of the 
personal research or the experience of the leader. 

(2) At the opening of the class period, to present a situa- 
tion involving a problem the solution of which is to be worked 
out by the group ; to set the problem, as some say. 

(3) To present a fact or theory upon which the leader 
wishes the class to reach an opinion. 

(4) To explain matter not understood, an understanding of 
which may not well be postponed. 

(5) To save the time of students in getting some needed and 
not easily secured data, the finding and reading of which would 
consume a wasteful amount of time. 

(6) To sum up a period or part of a period. 

(7) When a preview of a course is needed in order to see 
the setting of a single unit or period. 

(8) To arouse enthusiasm, to secure appreciation of some 
situation or subject-matter, to stir emotion. 

(9) To interpret something, show its significance and 
meaning. 

(10) To present a good illustration. 

(11) To assign a lesson. 

b. How to lecture 

( 1 ) In short periods, two to five minutes, with discussion in 
between and occupying most of the time. 

(2) Through a student who presents an oral report based on 
analytical notes. 

(3) Follow a clear analysis, which you place on the board 
if possible, to make the points stand out. 

(4) Use the simplest possible language and terms. 



80 TRAINING A STAFF 

(5) Not dogmatically, as settling the whole matter. 

(6) So as to initiate, not end, thought. 

(7) Introduce only vital matter, not merely erudite or 
interesting facts. ' Admit only such matter as furthers the dis- 
cussion and is needed by the students in solving the vital prob- 
lems before the class. 

c. Why not more ? 

(1) There is danger of telling what can be learned better by 
other methods. 

(2) In the opinion of many educational investigators, and 
for reasons easily proved, the lecture method has been demon- 
strated to be the poorest of all teaching methods. Why use 
such a poor tool? It simply does not "deliver." 

6. Assigning the Next Lesson 

The acid test of good teaching, says Professor Kilpatrick, 
"is to leave the student with a desire to know more." A 
teacher may insure that his work will meet this test by acquir- 
ing skill in lesson assignment. The psychology of continued 
interest is most operative where the assignment for the next 
lesson grows out of the day's discussion. At its close, a new 
problem has been sensed, and the students desire data to help 
in its solution. They want more information. The lesson 
assignment, therefore, sets the problem and tells where to find 
materials bearing upon it. Such an assignment is naturally 
made at the end of the lesson. It should be given time com- 
mensurate with its importance. A fifth of the class period is 
not too much. Where the next lesson begins a new topic, how- 
ever, the assignment might just as well be made at the begin- 
ning of the class hour. 

Three degrees of skill are revealed in the making of lesson 
assignments. 

a. The lowest order of skill is revealed when the teacher 
says, "For tomorrow take the next ten pages." This is the 
classic illustration of the way not to do it. 

b. It is good practice to take five or more minutes at the end 
of the class period and state clearly the ground you want cov- 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 81 

ered, the reading to be done. Then indicate the points to be 
especially observed, the matter that is of little importance, diffi- 
culties that may be encountered, and the way to approach and 
study the lesson. Then give a minute to see if the students 
have understood. 

c. The best assignments use the problem approach. The 
problem has arisen out of the group discussion. Perhaps the 
leader anticipated it and is ready with directions to new ma- 
terial on the subject. He tells what to read, whom to interview, 
upon what questions to think and read. The students then 
regard the new lesson not as a task imposed by the teacher, but 
as aids the teacher has given them in solving a problem in 
which they are interested. It makes all the difference in the 
world. 

The leader may have to look up his references after the 
class hour, not having been able to see where the class would 
come out and so prepare his assignment in advance. In this 
case he writes it out and posts it where all can see it, in time to 
make preparation for the next meeting. . 

In either case it consists of three units : first, the topic, stated 
in problem form; second, questions which open up the topic 
and direct investigation; third, a list of references, with the 
pages to be read. 

There is another form of assignment, called a project as- 
signment. It consists in things to do, and questions bearing 
upon these things. For instance, in a class studying Y M C A 
membership methods, the next lesson might be the preparing 
of advertising material, a soliciting letter, or it might be an 
effort to secure older men on a service basis. The lesson on 
membership given earlier in this chapter ended with this sort 
of project assignment. It is very good pedagogy as well as 
highly practical from the point of view of training men in 
working methods. These assignments also illustrate that at 
times each member of the class will have a different reading 
or task upon which he is to report. 

Those who wish to make a full study of lesson assignments 
should read ''Supervised Study," by Professor Hall-Quest of 



82 TRAINING A STAFF 

Cincinnati University. It will suggest some interesting experi- 
ments and new ways of using a class period. 

y. Reviews 

What part do reviews play in the discussion method of 
teaching? The best review is the actual use in today's discus- 
sion of results secured or conclusions reached in previous meet- 
ings, used to help solve today's problem. Ground gained in the 
process we have here set forth is more securely held than that 
covered in lecture or recitation methods ; and the materials for 
this course being the kind that the student actually can and 
does and wants to use, their permanent possession is more as- 
sured. A meeting should occasionally be devoted to gathering 
up the results of previous meetings, and together working out 
an analysis or outline of the subject. Such a meeting naturally 
would come at the end of a whole topic. 

Charters's short discussion beginning on page 355 of his 
"Methods of Teaching" is one of the best references. This is 
one of the most helpful books published on the problem 
method of teaching. Get it. 

8. Class-Room Methods 

Vary and enrich your class-room work by the use of some 
of the generally accepted teaching devices. 

a. Blackboards 

Successful teaching can sometimes be done without 
the use of blackboards, but it is a shame to try it when black- 
boards add so much to the certainty of securing results. The 
eye becomes the ally of the ear in the learning process, and 
visual memory reenforces that of sounds. Conciseness and 
clarity of thought and statement are secured through the neces- 
sity of writing and of economy of space. Analyses and out- 
lines fasten themselves in the mind. Diagrams indicate rela- 
tions and often make abstract ideas easily understood. 

There are blackboards and blackboards, and most of those 
met in our American Associations are of a poor sort. Nash- 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 83 

ville (Tenn.) stands out in memory as an oasis in a desert be- 
cause of its splendid folding blackboard, making twenty-four 
writing surfaces available within a few yards of space. No 
Association is well equipped unless it has ample blackboard 
space, both stationary and portable — a rich asset not only in 
class-room work but in forums, committee and directors' meet- 
ings, and for use in all sorts of talks to groups. 

Sometimes all the period, sometimes only a few minutes will 
be spent at the board. Vary your method. 

b. Class arrangement 

Meet around a table large enough for each man to 
have table room. This limits classes to perhaps a dozen, but 
few Associations have occasion for larger ones, as a large staff 
naturally divides into several groups, such as new men, second 
year men, and advanced men. Have the least possible number 
of men face the light. It is annoying, tires the eyes, and makes 
men sleepy. 

See that temperature and ventilation are regulated so as to 
make all men comfortable. It is hard to do good mental work 
in a chilly or stuffy room. Use good chairs, so as to make the 
students physically comfortable. Avoid folding camp-chairs, 
for not one in a thousand can be sat upon in comfort for an 
hour. Let the room be arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, 
with unnecessary or broken chairs removed. A disorderly 
room begets a disorderly mind. 

c. Accessories 

Comprehension and visual memory are both greatly aided 
by the use of objects brought into class. Pictures of 
Association buildings under discussion, photographs of leaders, 
copies of books referred to, samples of printed matter bearing 
on the topic, maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, and models, add 
to the interest of the period and give variety to the meetings 
as well as serve a genuine educational end. Take time to pass 
these around and talk about them in relevant discussion. Do 
not proceed with other matter while an object is being cir- 
culated among the group. Only one thing can be central in 
attention at a time, and it will usually be the object and not 



84 TRAINING A STAFF 

the new topic you have taken up. Both are worth while, so 
give separate time to each. 

d. Attitude 

The attitude of the successful group leader is always 
one of appreciation and encouragement. To ridicule or make 
light of a student's serious contribution is greatly to retard his 
progress, possibly to discourage him altogether. 

Enthusiasm is another essential. What does not arouse your 
own enthusiasm is not likely to interest your group deeply. 

In addition to appreciation and enthusiasm, the virtues of 
attitude, according to the Ohio State School Survey, are sym- 
pathy, cooperation, stimulation, even temper, reasonableness, 
tolerance, dignity, courtesy, firmness, tact, resourcefulness, and 
quickness to react. The vices are suppression, antagonism, 
harshness, laxity, irritability, unreasonableness, intolerance, 
rudeness, weakness, nagging, noise, disorder, dependence, 
blundering, and lack of dignity. 

e. Faults 

Some of the most common faults in class-room method 
are : delay due to students arriving late, lack of promptness in 
beginning the lesson, waste of time in calling the roll, low and 
indistinct speech on the part of teacher or pupil, cross-con- 
versation apart from the main discussion, unprepared black- 
boards and chalk, room not previously arranged and dusted, 
books and exhibit objects not well arranged or forgotten, tele- 
phone and other interruptions. Every one of these should be 
guarded against. Class-room work is of high importance, the 
time is brief, and nothing must be allowed to impede progress 
or reduce the efficiency of instruction. 

p. Examinations 

The best examination is a use. Knowledge is a tool, and the 
best test of the possession of skill with the tool is some piece of 
work done involving its use. A project examination is the 
best examination. What a man may write about a saw is no 
indication of skill as a carpenter. Can he use the saw ? Then 
he passes our test. 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 85 

Your students have studied sections of Association history, 
used it in solving problems. Can they now use this history in 
some profitable way? The examination used by Mr. Urice at 
Silver Bay, printed as Appendix B, is a project examination. 
Had he given this test in a local Association, it would have 
been made even more a use of material than it is. Use is used 
here in contrast with memory. A man may remember the Paris 
Basis but have no idea as to how to use it in determining As- 
sociation policies. He may remember certain instructions as 
to how to get members, but not be able to get them. There- 
fore, let your tests be doing — use tests, not merely memory 
stunts. The Association secretaryship is a vocation; skill in 
it is measured by achievement, and the best vocational exam- 
ination is participation in the vocation. Skill in use, not facility 
in memorizing, is what we test for. 

IV. The Student's Work in Preparation 

This will be more fully dealt with in Chapter VI, "Reading 
and Study." This, however, is the proper place for a few 
specific suggestions. 

1. The general secretary should provide special time for it, 
and such preparation should be as much the duty of the young 
secretary as serving behind the lobby counter. The scheduling 
of time for study will lend class-room work a degree of stand- 
ing nothing else can give it. Just how much time should be so 
scheduled the staff should decide in conference. Perhaps the 
collegiate standard of two hours' preparation for one hour of 
recitation may obtain here as well. 

2. His reading and study should have as its aim not the 
covering or mere understanding of certain pages, but the gath- 
ering of suggestions that will help solve a problem. This 
definiteness of aim gives all study real motive and also aids the 
student in knowing when his lesson is prepared. 

3. Not all students need to do the same reading. The fact 
that different references yield different opinions sets the stage 
for real search for truth. The class period becomes a genuine 
discussion, a sifting, examining, and weighing. 



86 TRAINING A STAFF 

4. A student's preparation should look toward a discussion 
of the assignments, not just reproduction of them. Send him to 
the reference with three or four questions, and let him present 
his report (oral) as answers to them. 

5. A large corporation in Pittsburgh had a number of college 
men in training for executive positions. Their chief class 
period came Monday morning. Saturday morning these men 
met for what they called a "rehearsal class," when they went 
over together, without the teacher being present, the material 
they were to be questioned about on Monday. A similar group 
of college men in a New York bank had a round-table meeting 
at a convenient hour when they compared notes and exchanged 
experiences. Can our young secretaries-in-training adopt and 
use this idea ? 

6. Keep a good notebook, loose-leaf and of a convenient 
size. How much should go into it? A full outline of all dis- 
cussions or lectures ? As much as you are likely to use, and no 
more. Pages of notes are carefully taken and then carefully 
filed and forgotten. The summer schools are places of prolific 
note-taking. Are the notes reread and used? If so, they are 
worth while; otherwise, not. College men take a great many 
notes, in anticipation of an examination on what the lecturer 
said. A functional taking of notes, notes taken in anticipation 
of using that material in real life, is the kind recommended for 
our secretaries. These should then be filed or grouped by sub- 
ject. And notes taken on reading and private study may ex- 
ceed in amount the notes taken in class. Group discussion 
does not readily lend itself to note-taking, except during the 
summings-up. The group should exchange experience on this 
and work out a policy. 

V. Course of Study 

Our presentation of class-room work has thus far dealt 
largely with material in which are combined three or four bodies 
of matter frequently treated as separate subjects. The tendency 
of educational theory is away from the division of subject-mat- 
ter and is in the direction of breaking up the content into life 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 87 

situations instead of logical analyses. The procedure recom- 
mended here is an expression of this theory. The content of 
secretarial instruction has long been indicated by such divisions 
as Organization, Principles, History, and Methods. There is 
much to commend the newer method of relating the instruc- 
tion to real life situations on the problem-project basis, in 
which any one lesson may draw its material from all four of 
these old logical divisions. Organization as such, methods as 
such, cease to be the line of cleavage. The project will fre- 
quently involve historical matter, the use of methods, the ap- 
plication of principles, and participation in organization. This 
makes these materials seem much more real and useful and 
takes them out of the realm of ornaments and theory. The 
new basis of organizing subject matter is psychological, 
whereas the older plan is best designated as logical. 

The Association has not as yet had much experience with 
this approach, so detailed instructions cannot be given. Prob- 
ably we cannot go the whole length at once, but shall have to 
work our way into it. The suggestions that follow indicate 
lines of work and study within the possibilities of most As- 
sociations of a staff of ten men, and many with but five or 
six on the staff. 

Reread in connection with these sections, Chapter I, Chapter 
II, section III, and Chapter III, section III, 1 ; for general 
theory, Franklin Bobbitt's book, "The Curriculum." 

1. The Class Year 

Work on this basis is so practical and articulates so closely 
with the daily work of promoting the Association program that 
it should begin with the resumption of activity in September 
and continue until the first of June. 

The Secretarial Class, as it is sometimes called, may well 
meet three times a week for fifty or sixty minutes, preferably 
in the morning, say at nine o'clock. Where all the staff are 
employed in one building, the plan of meeting Tuesday, 
Wednesday, and Friday, from nine to ten, has worked well. 
Where the group comes from many parts of the city and from 



88 TRAINING A STAFF 

distant buildings, classes have been held from nine to twelve, 
as in Chicago and Brooklyn for instance. These three classes, 
one after the other, are not nearly so effective as the three 
classes on different mornings. Where the days indicated are 
used, Monday and Thursday are reserved for staff conferences. 
A plan for these is suggested in Chapter VII. The class takes 
the place of staff prayer meeting on those days. 

The first year that work of this kind is done, the whole staff 
may profitably take the course. It represents a new approach. 
The experienced men should be present both to get and to give. 
The second year these men take a more advanced course, and 
all new men on the staff constitute the first year group. The 
third year and each year thereafter the men who have had the 
regular second year's work plan a course for the season. It 
will be different each year. 

The following plan is suggested as one way of doing it. 

2. Courses 

a. First year 

Tuesday, p to 10 a. m. Elementary projects in Association 
work, growing in difficulty during the year. The class period is 
used for discussion of problems encountered. The course in- 
cludes projects and problems in most of the usual Association 
departments. The general secretary will usually be the teacher, 
as only he can assign the men real projects. In a metropolitan 
center, a branch executive may be chosen leader. The work 
will be most effectively done when each branch has its own 
class. 

Wednesday, 9 to io a. m. Bible study. A high-grade class 
in which the Bible, methods of teaching the Bible, and uses of 
Bible material are all considered. It may be taught by a mem- 
ber of the staff or some local resident apart from the staff. It 
should not be a series of lectures about the Bible, but should 
be group study of the Bible. For first-year work, use the gos- 
pels. Sharman's new course, "Jesus in the Records," is excel- 
lent for this purpose. Bosworth's "Studies in the Life of 
Jesus Christ," is another good course. The aim of this class is 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 89 

to get a student's grasp of the materials. It will be devotional 
and inspirational as a by-product. 

Friday, 9 to 10 a. m. Same as Tuesday. 

b. Second year 

Tuesday, 9 to 10 a. m. Advanced Association projects and 
problems. Perhaps this year's work will introduce more of the 
problems of the executive, efficiency principles, departmental 
responsibility, and more business administration and promo- 
tion. All these things will be studied in their relation to proj- 
ects, however, and not as separate bodies of subject-matter. 
Let the men gradually acquire knowledge of and skill in using 
efficiency principles week by week, rather than learn about 
them as a segregated fund of knowledge. 

Wednesday, 9 to 10 a. m. Bible class. In some Associa- 
tions the whole staff will want to be together for this Bible 
class, instead of dividing into groups by years. Where this is 
the case, it might be well to study the gospels the first year, 
the Acts and Epistles the second, and the Old Testament the 
third. Hutchins's new course, "The Religious Experience of 
Israel," is one of the best published. 

Friday, 9 to 10 a. m. Problems of the modern city. This 
is a study, of practical sociology, the constructive forces in 
city life with which we can and should cooperate, and the 
destructive forces we must count upon and combat. Among the 
former will be such subjects as city management (your own 
city), problems of city health and sanitation, housing, recrea- 
tion, law-making and enforcement, education, and so forth. 
The course would include a study of local employment prob- 
lems, labor problems, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, gam- 
bling, amusements, care of dependents and defectives, charity 
organization societies, settlements, present-day unrest, immigra- 
tion, foreign groups, evening education, temperance, child wel- 
fare agencies, and the modern city church. The class would 
discover the problems, then the agencies working to solve them, 
then the relation of the Association to the same problem and 
agencies. It will be a full and profitable year, if the right 
leader is secured. 



90 TRAINING A STAFF 

c. Advanced year 

This group would meet twice a week at a convenient hour. 
It might not be possible to meet simultaneously with the 
younger groups, as these men may have to run the building 
while the others are in class. They would choose their own 
leader and themselves decide upon what subjects it would be 
most profitable to study. Here, too, correlation with practical 
work is a great aid and incentive. 

Among subjects that it might be profitable to study may be 
mentioned advanced work in the problems of the modern city, 
business administration, theory of education, religious educa- 
tion, sociology, modern religious movements, movements and 
developments in the Orient, Latin America, or Europe, applied 
psychology, social psychology, personal evangelism, modern 
missions, fundamentals of Christian thought, vocational educa- 
tion or guidance, advertising, salesmanship, current events, 
phases of Association work, as rural, industrial, or community, 
Association tendencies, work for boys, and so on through a long 
list. Two courses might be followed simultaneously, meeting 
on different days. 

J. Special Considerations 

a. As to laymen 

The mixing of laymen and the staff in a class that is 
designed to train secretaries has proved to be a failure 
and been generally discontinued. Hours suitable to the sec- 
retaries were not good hours for the laymen, and vice versa. 
Furthermore, the degree of interest and the point of view were 
so different as to make material of deep interest to secretaries 
uninteresting to the laymen. On the project and problem 
basis, the two will obviously work better as separate groups. 
Mixing the two groups is strongly advised against. 

b. As to time 

Long before you have reached this point in the chapter, 
you may have objected that this is too hard and takes too 
much time. As to the first objection, it is indeed not an easy 
matter; it will require study, acquisition of new skill, and, of 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 91 

course, time and effort. It is so worth while, however, will so 
effectively attract and hold strong men for the staff, so increase 
each man's ability and output, so unify the staff and create 
enthusiasm in the work that it will prove worth all it costs and 
more. Then, too, twenty years' connection with the Young 
Men's ^Christian Association leads me to observe that it is not 
the habit of Association secretaries to back off from a good 
thing because it is hard. And finally, it is not as hard as it 
looks. Try it and you will see. 

4. Methods Discussions 

There is a way of treating lessons in such subjects as mem- 
bership work, educational work, and similar method material 
that is so interesting to the group and educationally sound that 
it is presented here. It will help some men. Let us take mem- 
bership work as a sample. This will be a development lesson 
rather than a group discussion, though there will be plenty of 
discussion. 

A Series of Lessons on Membership Work 

The leader goes to the board and asks, What are the tasks 
involved in getting and holding an Association membership? 
He writes on the board all the suggestions that come, caution- 
ing the men to keep to large divisions, not minutiae. After 
he sees that the subject has been fairly well covered, in say 
three or four minutes, with the help of the class he gathers 
the suggestions into the main divisions such as this : 

1. Getting members. 

2. Keeping membership records. 

3. Assimilating members. 

4. Securing renewals. 

5. Utilizing and training them as committeemen. 
Leader: Let us now examine the task of getting members. 

How are they secured? 
Group contributions : 
Personal solicitation. 
Drop in to join. 
Through advertisements. 
By means of campaigns. 
Brought in by friends. 



92 TRAINING A STAFF 

Leader: Who does this personal soliciting? 
Group contributions : 
Secretaries. 
Committeemen. 
Directors. 
Satisfied customers. 
Leader: What secretaries should solicit members? * 

(Here you get a good discussion.) 
Leader: What sort of advertisements are used? 
Group contributions; 
Booklets. 
Letters. 

Newspaper stories. 
Newspaper advertisements. 
Window cards. 
Bulletins. 
Leader: What characteristics make a booklet a success? 
Leader: What gives a letter pulling power? 
So the leader proceeds, taking each contribution, putting it 
on the board, analyzing it with the group, pushing farther into 
the subject, discussing disputed points, letting the group rule 
out poor suggestions, occasionally offering a suggestion him- 
self, at times asking questions that reveal the weakness of 
some idea. 

It is surprising what can be done with a group by this proc- 
ess. The total contribution is wonderfully worthy, full of good 
things, and every man has participated, thought, grown, 
searched for truth, solved problems, been interested, and very 
likely decided on some action. That makes it a pretty good 
educational process, does it not? 

The last five minutes are used to assign a project to each 
member of the group, based on the things on. the board — let us 
say membership advertising. They are real, not make-believe. 
They will be used, not just discussed in class. To a group of 
six, these might be assigned: 

Draw up a ii x 14 window-card to get members. 

Write a letter soliciting a member. 

Prepare a four-inch double column newspaper ad. 

Write a newspaper story to attract members. 

Design a poster for the bulletin-board. 

Outline a leaflet, four pages, envelope size. 



CLASS-ROOM WORK 93 

When the class meets for the next period, these projects are 
reported upon, discussed, and after modification, actually used. 
The leader plans the development of his lesson in advance so 
as to make his projects articulate with the tasks of the day. 
Obviously, this would be a timely lesson in early September. 

After checking up on the projects, the outline is further 
developed, and, if it is advisable, new projects are assigned. 
So the course proceeds. The assignments after the second les- 
son might be study assignments instead of objective projects; 
they would bear upon some problem brought up in the class 
meeting. Can you use this plan? 

5. Other Uses of the Problem Method 

The plans developed at length in this chapter are not the 
only use of the problem method. The teaching of Association 
history in chronological order of events can be conducted along 
the lines recommended by M. E. Branom in "The Project 
Method in Education," pages 200 to 219, or by W. W. Charters 
in "Teaching the Common Branches," chapter 10, or by the 
simple use of the problem method worked out in Secretarial 
Bureau Bulletins number 4 and number 11, issued several 
years ago and mailed free to those asking for them by the 
Personnel Bureau, International Committee Y M C A, 347 
Madison Ave., New York. Experience and conviction, how- 
ever, lead to the recommendation of the method developed 
above. 

VI. References on the Discussion Method 

1. Methods of Teaching. W. W. Charters. Pages 215-217, 
266-276, 296-313, 396-414. Splendid treatment of discussion, ques- 
tioning, and assigning lessons. 

2. The Project Method in Education. M. E. Branom. Pages 
124-140, 145-170, 200-219. Very helpful material in relation to 
class-room method. 

3. What Is Education ? E. C. Moore. Pages 222-232. A sec- 
tion on the recitation, lecture, and development method. 

4. The Method of the Recitation. C. A. & F. M. McMurry. 
Pages 1 18-189. A full treatment of the development method of 



94 TRAINING A STAFF 

teaching, as compared with lecturing and hearing recitations from 
textbooks. 

5. The Educative Process. W. C. Bagley. Pages 256-264. 
A chapter on teaching the student to arrive at his own conclusions. 

6. How to Teach. Strayer & Norsworthy. Pages 200-218. 
A chapter on different types of class-room work, such as inductive 
and deductive lessons drill, recitations, and lectures. 

7. The Pupil and the Teacher. L. A. Weigle. Pages 169- 
180. The various kinds of questions and how to ask questions. 

8. Types of Teaching. L. B. Earhart. Pages 80-90. A chap- 
ter on how to make lesson assignments. 

9. Democracy and Education. John Dewey. Pages 163-192. 
The relation of experience to thinking, and how to think scien- 
tifically. 

10. How We Think. John Dewey. Pages 68-78. An analysis 
of what we do when we think. 

n. Teaching by Projects. C. A. McMurry. Pages 222-224. 
The use of questions in teaching. 

12. The Teaching of Bible Classes. E. F. See. Pages 156- 
172. (Association Press.) A discussion of the art of questioning. 

13. The Leadership of Red Triangle Groups. H. S. Elliott. 
(Association Press.) A full discussion of how to conduct discus- 
sion groups, especially Bible study groups. 

14. The Silver Bay Experiment. Jay A. Urice. (Association 
Press.) An account of a successful effort to apply the group- 
discussion method of teaching. 

15. International Encyclopedia. Article "Pedagogy," Vol. 
18, page 246. Read the section dealing with the different class- 
room methods. 

16. The Question as a Measure of Efficiency in Instruc- 
tion. Romiett Stevens. (Columbia University.) An investiga- 
tion of the relation of the number and quality of questions to suc- 
cessful teaching. 



CHAPTER V 

COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 

Analysis 

I. Why Coaching Is Needed 

1. To supplement projects and class-room work 

2. Because of personal differences in men 

3. From the point of view of the general secretary 

4. Some secretaries 

II. What Is the Coach's Part in Producing a Winning 
Team? 

1. Preparatory work 

2. Technical factors 

3. Physical factors 

4. Psychic factors 

5. The secretary as coach 

III. Beginning on a New Man 

1. Inducting him into his work 

2. Conditions affecting work 

a. Circumstances and environment 

b. Temperament and training 

3. Things about which to coach men 

a. Office methods 

b. Departmental methods 

c. Staff 

d. Plant 

e. Activities 

f. Visitors 

g. The city 

h. Accessory talents 
i. Professional habits 
j. Personal condition 
k. Etiquette 
1. Attitude 

IV. Spirit and Attitude 

95 



96 TRAINING A STAFF 

V. Whom to Coach and How 

i. The man who is "falling down" 

2. The man who is "making good" 

3. The understudy 

a. His place in the organization 

b. Ways of training an understudy 

4. Special coaching occasions 

5. The coaching question 

6. The happy medium 

VI. Records 
VII. Questions for Further Study 

Problem 

What coaching by senior secretaries is necessary and helpful 
in the training process? 

I. Why Coaching Is Needed 

1. To Supplement Projects and Class-Room Work 

It is obvious that in the execution of projects the young sec- 
retary will find himself in situations for which his previous 
experience is not adequate preparation. For the successful cul- 
mination of any considerable enterprise, he will need prepara- 
tory coaching and personal attention at different times during 
its progress. Experience shows the value of this same careful 
individual coaching in minor tasks also, as well as in larger 
duties. 

Class-room work also is inadequate to the training of men 
for success in the vocation. Recent years have witnessed a 
decreasing belief in the efficacy of the school room in fitting 
men for objective undertakings. "The benefit of class instruc- 
tion is limited," says President E. C. Moore, "and the limits 
are quickly reached. Improvement can come only by the 
adoption of methods and opportunities for supplementing class 
instruction with work for individuals." One form of such sup- 
plementing is found in personal coaching. 

2. Because of Personal Differences in Men 

One seldom finds two men alike. The degree of intelligence 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 97 

is different; response to the same suggestion differs; men ap- 
proach and do their work in a variety of ways ; help is needed 
at different points and in varying amounts. Each man on the 
staff has his personal peculiarities, and these require individual 
treatment. Personal coaching is the only sure process by which 
these diverse needs can be met. All this from the angle of the 
assistant. 

3. From the Point of View of the General Secretary 

a. He wants certain things done in a special way. Local ex- 
perience has resulted in the standardization of certain proc- 
esses, and, until a new way can be proved better, all men are 
expected to learn the accepted method. It is passed on through 
personal coaching. 

b. In the course of his own career the general secretary has 
acquired knowledge of Association processes, points of view, 
and traditions — his share of the social heritage of the vocation. 
That this wealth may not be lost and pass away with his own 
going, the secretary wishes to transmit it to the younger men 
coming on to his staff. Much of this transmission is secured 
by personal coaching in connection with daily work. 

c. The experienced secretary wants to save his juniors from 
repeating the costly errors of himself and others. He wishes 
to save the Association also. So he coaches. 

d. He knows that coaching has a great deal to do with pro- 
ducing a winning team, to use a figure from athletics. 

e. He knows it to be the heart of the understudy relation, to 
use one from big business. 

f. He realizes that the process of coaching has the same 
value in training laymen that it has in training secretaries, and 
seeks to perfect himself in it. 

g. He believes that his juniors will in turn use the processes 
used on them, and coach others. 

h. He feels a sense of moral obligation to give this individual 
attention to his new associates. 

i. There is a growing conviction in the brotherhood that a 
secretary must be more than a promoter, that he must be a 



98 TRAINING A STAFF 

teacher and trainer of men — lay and employed. Much of this 
training work will be in the form of personal coaching. 

4. Some Secretaries 

It may be that some senior secretaries have not realized the 
nature and value of coaching as a means of getting work well 
done, or, realizing it, have done more or less of it, as most do, 
but have never made a real study of coaching and reduced it 
to an art. 

For such, this chapter may contain a real idea. They may 
find in it a way of adding a new tool to their kit, an additional 
skill to their equipment. 

There is practically no literature on the psychology or ped- 
agogy of coaching. It is a good field for research. In the ab- 
sence of helpful writing, let us go to the athletic field and study 
the man coaching a team. 

A number of general secretaries, physical directors, and 
departmental men have been interviewed on this subject. 
Many of these men spoke both as athletes who had received 
coaching, and as secretaries who did coaching. Working to- 
gether, we found the athletic analogy yielded much helpful 
suggestion. This composite answer to our question will repay 
mulling over. 

II. What Is the Coach's Part in Producing a Winning 

Team ? 
1. Preparatory Work 

a. He has scouts out looking for good material, and does 
some scouting himself. In the course of his experience he 
finds that certain ponds are "good fishing" and goes there 
again. 

b. From the available material he selects the most likely pros- 
pects, with a view to next year's as well as this year's team. 
Some material he leaves where it is for a while and watches 
its development before deciding that he wants a certain man. 

c. He knows he cannot "make a silk purse out of a sow's 
ear," that there is no use trying to polish a brick, that he can- 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 99 

not clinch nails in a potato; so he is mighty careful in his selec- 
tion of the men upon whom his energies are to be spent. He 
tries to pick winners. 

d. He provides good equipment for his men to work with. 

2. Technical Factors 

a. He puts the men to work at once, giving them elementary- 
tasks within the range of their ability. 

b. He coaches the men on these tasks, giving them the funda- 
mentals and the fine points as they are needed and the men 
are alert to receive them. As an expert, he supplies the tech- 
nique of the game. 

c. Each player is studied carefully, in order that both his 
personal characteristics and his special aptitudes may be dis- 
covered and understood. 

d. He supplies constructive criticism based on this study, and 
directs each player's energies into the most profitable lines. 

e. He analyzes the game, and arranges a sequence of in- 
struction. He has a curriculum, as it were, a program of learn- 
ing the game. 

f. He knows the game himself, and is constantly on the 
alert to learn more. 

g. He studies the technique of the coaching process, and the 
best way of overcoming difficulties in the way of making his 
team a successful one so far as his work as coach is concerned. 

h. He devises plays, and encourages his men to undertake 
the same. 

i. He has discussions of the game and its technique, illustrat- 
ing and working out plays upon the blackboard, and helping 
each man to understand fully his own part in the game, the 
part of other players, and the game as a whole. Thus he 
combines work and theory, each based upon the other. 

j. On the field he demonstrates some plays himself, making 
the process clear and setting a standard of performance. 

k. He finds weak spots, and strengthens them either by sup- 
plementary coaching or by shifting a player. Some men he 
finds he has to drop from the team. 



ioo TRAINING A STAFF 

1. Certain positions have to be rilled, so he looks for the men 
most likely to fill them well and directs their training toward 
that end. He knows the requirements of each position, and the 
kind of man most likely to make good in it. 

m. On the field, he supervises the work of the men, keeps 
track of their progress, and notes their difficulties. 

n. He knows he cannot turn out a winning team by carrying 
the ball himself, so he has other men carry the ball. On pro- 
fessional teams, where the coach is himself a player, he knows 
he cannot play the whole game himself, so he faithfully seeks 
to bring other men up to his own degree of skill. He knows 
better than to be a lone star. 

o. Men vary in the things they can do well. The coach finds 
his material long on some things and short on others. In foot- 
ball, he may find his men are light but fast. He builds his 
game and style of play on this fact or condition, bases his plays 
on the players available. He also builds more or less around 
certain skilful players. 

p. He teaches the technique of scoring, how and when to 
make the final effort that makes all the previous work of some 
avail. 

q. In consultation with the men, he decides upon which are 
the major and the minor games, and plans their work ac- 
cordingly. 

r. He supplements himself, choosing assistant coaches for 
special service, and has the older men coach the newer ones. 

s. He knows that general or specific instruction to the group 
as a whole will not suffice, and gives each man all the individual 
instruction he needs. 

j. Physical Factors 

a. The wise coach looks carefully into the physical condition 
of his players, cautioning them against things he knows reduce 
effectiveness. 

b. He gives suggestions — even makes rules — as to eating, 
sleeping, and other physical factors. The man who goes con- 
trary to these is recognized by all as jeopardizing the success 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 101 

of the team, and the group works with the coach to enforce 
provisions demonstrated to be wise. 

c. Symptoms of over-work are watched for, and measures 
taken to relieve the strain. 

4. Psychic Factors 

a. The coach develops the right attitude of mind toward 
practice, training, the game, team-mates, etc. 

b. He seeks to create incentive, enthusiasm, inspiration, be- 
lief in the game, and loyalty. 

c. He wins the men's confidence in himself, by his skill, his 
interest in them, and his personal character. Inspiring loyalty, 
he is in turn loyal — to the men, the game, the institution em- 
ploying him. He both is loyal to and believes in his men. 

d. He has high ideals as to the quality of his own work. 

e. He commends good work. 

f . Esprit de corps and team play being vital to the game, he 
endeavors to create and maintain them. With larger liberty, 
he yet shares the hardships of the men, asks nothing he is not 
willing to do himself, preaches and practices self-subordination 
to the group interest. 

5. The Secretary as Coach 

If this analysis of the work of the coach is correct, and 
coaching is part of the secretarial task, a duty quite like that 
of the man in athletics, the responsibility this analogy lays upon 
the secretary is no light one. Indeed, the above is scarcely a 
full measure of it, for the task of the secretary is just as much 
harder and more exacting as his goal is more significant and 
vital than that of the athletic coach. Each duty of the coach 
implies a more serious one for the head of the Association 
staff, an obligation more sacred. 

With no disrespect for the coach, we may say that his prime 
interest is in winning games. The secretary must win games 
also, but in addition he must train men for their life's occupa- 
tion, and prepare future leaders for the Association move- 
ment. Then, too, coaching is the coach's way of making a liv- 



102 TRAINING A STAFF 

ing, of serving a college, or at most of improving somewhat 
the quality of men. Coaching is the secretary's way of extend- 
ing the Kingdom of God. 

There are other differences. With the secretary, there are 
no seasons; the task is continuous. The task is also more 
varied, and more kinds of ability are required. The secretary 
is himself a player in the game. Losses in this game mean 
more than losses in athletics. The characters of the men and 
boys of a city are involved. The Association objective is more 
complex, just as it is more vital, and results are more difficult to 
measure as well as more difficult to produce. They are more 
mental and spiritual, less physical, slower, perhaps, as well as 
more difficult to obtain. 

The secretary works under five disadvantages. He has many 
other duties, he has no substitutes to fall back upon, he has 
less material from which to choose, it is harder for him to dis- 
pose of poor material, and he cannot be so constantly on a 
man's trail during practice and the game. 

On the other hand, all the incentives and power of a great 
cause and motive are with the secretary; he is a partner with 
God himself in this enterprise. 

III. Beginning on a New Man 
i. Inducting Him into His Work 

With the parallel of the athletic coach in mind, let us see 
how a general secretary should begin work on a new man. He 
might proceed as follows : 

a. Assign the new man definite work at the very beginning. 
Find out what he has done previously, and use these things as a 
basis, if possible. 

b. Instruct him in the simple tasks of his position, have him 
perform them in your presence, and observe his performance. 

c. Correct his faults and errors in a kindly way. Help him 
to realize and understand these places of least efficiency, but 
do not rub it in. 

d. Express appreciation of that part of his work which is 
well done. Recognize ability. 



COACHING : THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 103 

e. Do not let him overdo during these early days, or later. 

f. By varying his tasks, by study and observation, discover 
his strong and weak points, his personal qualifications. Build 
on his "longs," and coach him on his "shorts." 

g. See that he understands the reasons for certain methods 
of doing work, the advantages and disadvantages of different 
ways, so that he becomes personally committed to them and is 
not merely mechanically obeying orders, like the Irishman who 
tapped the car wheels but did not know that he was doing it 
so he could by the sound discover cracked ones. 

h. Use certain tasks as a point of contact in introducing a 
discussion of fundamental principles, and bring in historical 
matter where it helps to solve the problem or to understand it. 

i. Gradually add to his responsibilities, with the necessary 
coaching as to new duties. Put more stress upon why than 
upon how, so as to give him a chance to use initiative in devel- 
oping method, or to improve a process already in use. 

j. Demonstrate certain processes, such as the way you want 
the 'phone answered, how to show a guest over the building, 
how to inspect the plant, etc. 

k. See that he understands the technique of each task, such 
as recording cash receipts, taking membership applications, and 
checking laundry in and out. 

1. Require a reasonably good standard of performance, but 
let him understand he is not expected to be a star the first week. 
Failure in certain things, however, should not be lightly passed 
over. 

m. Encourage him to ask questions where he does not under- 
stand ; expect the whole staff to be ready to help new men find 
themselves. 

n. Let these coaching contacts be frequent in the beginning. 

o. Let your coaching be constructive rather than critical, so 
far as possible. "Do" helps more than "don't." 

p. Show him the importance of his task as a contribution to 
the whole scheme of the Association. Make him feel worth 
while. 

q. Secure his confidence, respect, and friendship. 



104 TRAINING A STAFF 

r. Have a sequence of tasks for him, a curriculum based on 
an analysis of his position. 

s. Relate some of your group discussions to the needs you 
discover in your coaching. 

t. Teach him to carry each undertaking to its proper com- 
pletion, to "score." 

2. Conditions Affecting Work 

There are certain conditions which so vitally affect the way 
in which men work that the secretary, in his individual coach- 
ing of men, must give careful attention to them. They will 
considerably modify what he will say and do under exactly the 
same superficial circumstances. These modifiers come under 
the head of circumstances and present environment on one 
hand, and temperament and training on the other. 

a. Circumstances and environment 

Before a man is reproved or censured in private coaching, let 
the senior secretary discover the circumstances affecting his 
work. His physical condition may be such that good work is 
simply out of the question. Perhaps he is getting insufficient 
sleep, due to a noisy room, a sick wife or child, or ill health. 
His stomach may be out of order, due to too great economy 
in eating or the reverse, or to the difficulty of getting a good 
eating place, or to too great haste in eating. Some permanent 
illness may have hold of him, reducing his vitality. Or he may 
be overworked and need chiefly lightening of the load. Change 
from an athletic college life to office work may be a condition- 
ing circumstance. 

Other men are seriously depressed by home conditions, a 
petulant or sick wife, or one out of sympathy with her hus- 
band's choice" of vocation or location. Her discontent or 
jealousy of others may greatly reduce her husband's working 
efficiency. Or she may be making demands upon him at home 
that deprive him of opportunities for rest, recreation, or study. 
He may have to do the washing and ironing. 

The whole matter of the staff's home situation and physical ' 
condition must be kept in mind if coaching is to be helpful, 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 105 

sympathetic, or effective. Financial and other matters causing 
worry must also be taken into account. They must first be 
known, and such information comes only to men of kindly 
interest. 

b. Temperament and training 

Not all men respond alike to the same suggestion, nor are all 
to be treated in just the same way. Individual differences in 
temperament and training must be allowed for. Disposition is 
a determining factor; this must be discovered and sails set ac- 
cordingly. The sensitive man and the more hardy one are not 
to be dealt with just alike. 

Professor Hall-Quest, during a long experience in coaching 
students, has found the following types. We have all of them 
in the secretaryship : 

The timid pupil — easily misjudged; hesitates to assert his 
rights. 

The overconfident pupil — likes to be prominent; may resent 
explanations. 

The impulsive pupil — sees things at once, but superficially. 

The careless pupil=— unreliable in details. 

The industrious but not brilliant pupil — deserves recognition. 

The brilliant but lazy pupil — should be warned. 

The all-round pupil — can and does learn easily. 

The resentful pupil — low marks or criticism offend him. 

The indifferent pupil — an enigma often ; hard to arouse ; 
seek for his chief interest. 

The artistic pupil — very neat. 

The social pupil — prefers clubs and social life in general. 

Professor Bagley, quoted by Professor Hall-Quest in 
"Supervised Study," p. 58, classifies pupils into eight groups, 
the first six of which at least we have to deal with on our 
staff; for the pupil grows up and enters Association work. 
These are: (a) The stubborn pupil; (b) the haughty pupil; 
(c) the self-complacent pupil ; (d) the irresponsible pupil ; (e) 
the morose pupil; (f) the hypersensitive pupil; (g) the deceit- 
ful pupil; (h) the vicious pupil. 

Finally, we must take account of a man's training, and expect 



106 TRAINING A STAFF 

much or little on only a fair basis. His past experience and 
home and school training produce conditions easily understood 
in the light of knowledge of them, and these enter into the 
decision as to how to deal with that member of the staff in the 
coaching relation. 

j. Things about Which to Coach Men 

The secretary who decides to make coaching a genuine teach- 
ing process will analyze the secretarial task to find the places 
at which coaching is likely to be necessary. He will prepare a 
sort of curriculum or course of coaching, and check off the 
different matters as they are attended to. It will generally be 
most helpful if it comes in connection with a piece of work 
actually in hand. This is not always possible, so some of the 
coaching periods, long or short, will be deliberately introduced 
at appropriate times apart from a related task. The list in 
Chapter I will be of some assistance. The spheres in which 
coaching is found to be helpful may be studied under the fol- 
lowing outline : 

a. Office methods: Some Associations have written stand- 
ard practice instruction sheets describing how certain pieces of 
work are to be done. These would, of course, be given to the 
new man to read. He will need coaching along with them. 
Checking the cash, answering the 'phone, assorting mail — a 
large number of these minor duties are best done in a certain 
way. Discover it and coach the new men in it. 

The attitude of the office man also needs attention. He must 
not only do his routine work accurately and faithfully, but he 
must be alert to greet people coming to the counter either on 
business or to visit socially. The spirit in which counter service 
is to be performed needs to be definitely taught. Few assist- 
ants in the front office do this work well. The Association is 
not as successful in greeting people as is the average hotel or 
the United Cigar Stores. Here is a sphere for careful coach- 
ing. The hotel and the cigar store clerks are taught how to 
meet the public. 

b. Departmental methods: Here is an important place for 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 107 

careful analysis of the whole sphere of work, decision as to 
how things should be done until better methods appear, and 
coaching of new men in the present approved process. All the 
departments — physical, educational, religious, social, and such 
divisions of the work as boys, dormitory, membership, thrift, 
and so forth — should have their technique passed on in this 
personal manner. This includes both details and policies. 

c. Staff : Certain facts and peculiarities about the members 
of the staff should be given the new man, so that he may 
quickly enter into an understanding sympathy with all the older 
men. He should be coached on his attitude to his fellow-work- 
ers, an attitude of respect and cooperation, and this spirit 
should be extended to include the humblest janitorial help. A 
secretary once said, "I expect to treat the president and the 
janitor on exactly the same basis; on the basis that I am a 
gentleman." 

d. Plant : There are a number of things about the plant the 
new man should know : Its size, cost and age. Where differ- 
ent rooms are located, and what each room is for. Where 
things are kept. How to regulate the temperature, ventilation, 
and lights. Janitorial responsibilities. What to do in emer- 
gencies. Cleaning processes. 

e. Activities : The new man must be quickly equipped to 
answer questions about activities, regular and special; facts 
about dates, prices, schedules, and persons must be given him, 
with coaching as to ways in which he can cooperate. To be of 
real assistance in making things go, membership for instance, 
he must be coached in salesmanship. 

f . Visitors : The Association man who can receive and en- 
tertain visitors is a joy forever, if not a thing of beauty. Let 
his preparation for this important service include coaching in 
how to meet people, how to show them over the building in an 
entertaining way, and how to practice the art of social con- 
versation — finding the subjects that interest the guests and 
talking about them. 

g. The city : Show the new man a map of the city, take him 
to different parts of it, explaining the different sections, streets, 



io8 TRAINING A STAFF 

buildings, churches, schools, and institutions, so that he in turn 
can use this information in his work. Tell him about the im- 
portant and interesting personalities, and have him meet some 
of them. Coach him on local interests, industries, traditions, 
and history. It will add greatly to his interest in his work and 
increase his effectiveness as a worker. 

h. Accessory talents : See that he is coached on such work 
as public speaking, letter writing, salesmanship, and adver- 
tising. 

i. Professional habits: Coaching here should include the 
cultivation of promptness, neatness, courtesy, system, accuracy, 
optimism, methods of planning and executing work, and per- 
sonal efficiency. The use of slang will be regulated, and good 
form in manner and speech cultivated. 

j. Personal conditibn: Many men need to be coached on 
their personal appearance, on their habits of sleep, eating, and 
exercise. "How to Live," by Fisher and Fiske, should be 
placed in their hands for its many valuable suggestions in right 
living. Genesis 41 '.14 contains a suggestion. 

k. Etiquette : "The formalities or usages required by the 
customs of polite society." Some very good men have put 
their knives into their mouths, misused the salad fork, said 
"ain't," and done other distressing things. Make up for the 
omissions in early training. 

1. Attitude : Many younger men will need coaching on im- 
portant matters of attitude, including such things as a Christian 
Association secretary's attitude to the church, the Association, 
Sunday, the Bible, democracy, study, women, humble people, 
work, and life itself. All these, and others, should be discussed 
at some time or other as an appropriate occasion presents itself 
or can be made. This does not mean that the general secretary 
will deliver a brief and solemn lecture on each of these sub- 
jects. It means that these things will be quietly and frankly 
discussed, and such help given as may be needed. 

A few years ago the Secretarial Bureau of the International 
Committee issued a bulletin on this subject. It is reproduced 
here as supplementing this discussion. 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 109 

Topics for Interviews with Junior Secretaries 

Issued by the Secretarial Bureau of the International Com- 
mittee. Bulletin Number 8 

Successful general secretaries of Associations are having 
occasional interviews with the younger secretaries of their 
staffs for the following purpose. Naturally many of these 
interviews are of a very confidential nature, and they are all 
conducted in the spirit of deepest sympathy and friendship. 
Create an atmosphere in which such interviews will be natural, 
frank, and informal. 

Many younger secretaries have a genuine desire for a larger 
opportunity for such contact with the general secretary as is 
here suggested. 

The following are some of the objects which a senior secre- 
tary should have in mind in his interviews with junior secre- 
taries: 

1. To correct wrong personal habits, such as excessive use 
of slang, grouchiness, too free and easy a manner, lack of at- 
tention to personal appearance, etc. 

2. To help solve religious problems, such as doubts; and to 
give counsel as to religious development. 

3. To see if duties and their performance are understood. 

4. To coach as to specific Association methods and policies. 

5. To advise as to personal finances. 

6. To discover and prevent friction within the staff. 

7. To see if the men are in good health and spirits; and to 
advise regarding exercise and living conditions. 

8. To give encouragement as to personal progress. 

9. To suggest lines of study and growth. 

10. To guide general reading. 

11. To advise as to church and Sunday school relations. 

12. To advise concerning companions, and engagement and 
marriage. 

13. To discuss future training, education, and promotion. 

14. To reprove in a kindly way for errors that have been 
made. 

15. To cultivate a sense of comradeship. 

16. To develop a correct attitude toward the Association and 
its work. 

17. To give a clear idea of the Association's function and 
message. 

18. To stimulate professional ideals. 



no TRAINING A STAFF 

IV. Spirit and Attitude 

The following paragraph from a typewritten sheet received 
from Mr. L. E. Buell, of Michigan, is well worth quoting: 
"To suggest to a man without destroying his initiative; to 
inspire him to do his best without unduly flattering him ; to hold 
him to his task without weakening his sense of responsibility; 
to correct him without offending him ; and to always give him, 
in public as well as in private, credit for all that he does — this 
requires talent of a high order and it must be well mixed with 
love and the grace of God." "Mixed with love and the grace 
of God" — this describes the attitude of the true secretarial 
coach; kindly observation of a man's work and helpful dis- 
cussion of the results with suggestions as to possible improve- 
ment, suggestion often made in question form rather than 
given flatly. Thus conducted, the coaching contact becomes a 
period of fellowship and inspiration, a thing to look forward 
to and to be remembered with pleasure. It is easy to u nag" 
a junior and call it coaching. It is quite another thing to do 
it "mixed with love and the grace of God." One does not have 
to stretch his imagination to see Jesus dealing with His disciples 
on this kindly and friendly basis. The reproduction of His 
spirit in the senior secretary as a coach will add much to the 
effectiveness and more to the joy of the juniors on the staff. 

The coach's attitude must not only be kindly, it must be 
democratic. This phase of the subject is well presented in a 
recent letter from Mr. Jay A. Urice, of the International Com- 
mittee staff, to an interested local general secretary. A quota- 
tion from the letter with the questions referred to is repro- 
duced here : 

"The chief need, I feel, is for an attitude, a quality of in- 
terest, and a spirit which will lead the senior secretary to a 
more democratic attitude toward his staff. This attitude will 
lead him to be as much concerned at least with the development 
of his men as with the establishment of his ideas. He will 
view all of his contacts with them in terms of their develop- 
ment. His interest in them will be in drawing them out, and 
he will be willing to lead them out and watch them proceed in 
the use of methods, plans, and policies with which he will at 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION in 

times thoroughly disagree. This democratic spirit has for its 
basis the educational principle that men grow in resourceful- 
ness only as they are forced to use their own initiative, and that 
they learn to exercise good judgment only as they have actual 
experience in feeling the consequences of decisions which are 
entirely their own. This sort of a relationship means that the 
senior secretary must have confidence that the future of the 
movement, or of a local Association, will be safeguarded best 
by the development of men of initiative, resourcefulness, and 
ability, rather than by the perpetuation of sets of ideas which 
those of us who have the relation of 'senior' now feel are 
essential. 

"For the reason that I believe that an attitude is more essen- 
tial than a plan, I am not able to make my suggestions as con- 
crete as you will perhaps want. I attach some 'tests' of the 
attitude, which have grown out of a number of conferences — 
especially out of a recent conference which I conducted with 
the executives of the various branches of the New York City 
Associations. These may be helpful in stimulating men to 
examine their attitude and its bearing on the development of 
their men." 

An Attitude Which Makes Coaching More than Method 

Some tests as to whether my attitude and relationship is 
such that my junior secretaries are encouraged in development 
of their own ability and resourcefulness. 

1. Do the members of the Board of Directors speak of 
"your" staff or "our" staff when referring to my associates ? 

2. Do my men seek coaching from me or must I call them? 
How "formal" are our interviews? 

3. When "advising" with my juniors, do I attempt pri- 
marily to get them to adopt my ideas or encourage them to 
form their own? 

a. What is the nature of my advice — my answers to his 
questions or guidance which will lead to a junior finding his 
own answer? 

b. How much will my men develop if their aim is only to 
reproduce my ideas or methods? 

4. Do my juniors come to me as freely to talk over known 
points of difference of opinion as points where they are sure 
we will agree ? 

5. How important is it that my juniors always agree with 
me on matters of Association policy or personal affairs? 



ii2 TRAINING A STAFF 

a. How frequently do we disagree as to procedure in plan- 
ning? 

b. Who is finally "right" when we disagree ? 

c. Does apparent lack of disagreement come from their re- 
luctance to express themselves freely, or because we are nat- 
urally "of one mind" on the topics we talk over? 

6. Are men encouraged to assume initiative in thought and 
action even to the point of disagreement with me? 

a. How much do they actually share in formation of general 
policy? 

b. How far am I willing to trust them in this? 

7. Who finally "settles things" when I am in conference with 
my juniors? What is the effect on their growth when I be- 
come the final authority? 

8. In how far am I willing to let a junior proceed on a plan 
of his own making which I feel sure will fail? 

a. How willingly do I help him when he starts on a plan 
with which I do not entirely agree? 

9. To what extent do we learn together from the suc- 
cesses or failures of his work? Of my work? 

a. Do I find that I can frankly admit learning with my 
juniors and not lose my prestige with them? 

10. In how far is my relation that of captain of a company 
and in how far that of a more experienced member of a group 
of associates? 

a. To what extent is each type of leadership practical? 

V. Whom to Coach and How 

1. The Man Who Is " Falling Down" 

a. Find out why. Is it due to circumstances, such as over- 
work, discouragement, friction, wrong placement ? Or is it due 
to characteristics within the man himself ? To what extent 
can these circumstances be altered or these characteristics 
modified? 

b. The coach may or may not reveal to the man the fact that 
he is falling down. The wise thing may be to try to lead him 
into more successful work without upsetting him by the 
revelation of his failure. 

c. Some men, on the other hand, will need the "jolt" given 
by a frank statement of their lack of success. Let the doctor 
consider before he prescribes. 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 113 

d. The coach keeps himself from prejudice against the fail- 
ing man, and tries to preserve an open mind about him. 

e. The coach should exercise patience. 

f. Stimulate the man to better effort. Try to give him new 
incentive and vision. Encourage him with "That's all right, old 
man, you'll do better hereafter." 

g. Make constructive suggestions. Coach him in detail 
where it seems to be needed. Let this coaching be private and 
helpful, not as reproof. 

h. Plan more careful training for him, and supplement him 
at his weak points. 

i. A rest or short vacation may be the thing needed. 

j. You may be able so to adjust the conditions under which 
he works as to bring him up to standard. 

k. You may shift the man and assign him to other work. 
Mr. Richard C. Morse once asked, "Is he competent for any- 
thing else than that for which he is incompetent?" He may 
well be. 

1. If you find he is hopeless, begin to develop another man 
for the task. "Warm up another pitcher." 

m. It may be necessary to dismiss him. Help him secure 
another place suited to his ability. Part friends. 

2. The Man Who Is "Making Good" 

The one who is an assured success will also need coaching; 
and he will well repay it. What coaching does the quick, alert, 
and skilful man need? 

a. Express appreciation of his good work, giving such 
recognition or reward as is appropriate. But do not spoil him. 
It may be necessary to warn him against over-confidence, even 
to "reduce a swelled head." 

b. Show him his shortcomings, however, if he has some, and 
encourage him to improve in these places. Hold him steady. 

c. Build upon his strong points. Open up new opportunities 
based upon the things he does well. 

d. Give him special instruction along the line of his interest 
and aptitude. Suggest reading bearing upon his work. 



ii4 TRAINING A STAFF 

e. Set a new goal for him. Challenge him with bigger 
things, giving him chance for more responsibility and leader- 
ship. 

f . Relate him to one who needs his help, letting him have a 
hand in training others. 

g. Watch him to prevent his overdoing. 

j. The Understudy 

To "understudy," the Standard Dictionary advises us, means 
to study a part in order to be able if necessary to take the part 
of the one playing it. Big business took up both the idea and 
the word, and the understudy relation has now an established 
place in organization and administration. It is a generally 
accepted theory in many concerns that every important position 
must have a man as an understudy ready to take the place of 
his chief should occasion arise for so doing. Three ideas are 
involved — the status of the man, the sort of man needed, and 
the nature of his training. 

a. His place in the organization 

Naturally the position of the understudy is not all future. 
He has important work to do in the position he actually holds. 
His whole interest, however, is not involved in that position. 
He has his eyes and ears set to the front to learn the duties 
of the man ahead of him, the man whose place he understands 
he is some day to fill if he himself makes good. It is well to 
have part of his mind occupied with that "if." It is the bridge 
that he must cross if he is ultimately to reach the advanced 
position. 

But while he has his eyes on his chief, his chief must in turn 
have his eyes on his understudy and plan and direct his experi- 
ence so as to prepare him for promotion when the chief him- 
self goes up or elsewhere. 

The leading executives of the day consider this relationship 
important. F. A. Delano, former president of the Wabash 
Railroad, says, "Today leaders recognize the need of training 
understudies. Railroads have taken the lead in training their 
own men for positions of leadership. Young men are taken 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 115 

into the organization of the railroad and trained gradually in 
the duties and responsibilities of higher positions." 

Julius Kruttschnitt has already been quoted as saying, "The 
test of an effective organization is that it shall be self-per- 
petuating." The understudy relation is the process of self- 
perpetuation. 

The fear is likely to enter the mind of some men that if they 
train understudies to do their work, they themselves will be in 
danger of losing their positions and of being replaced by the 
lower-salaried assistants. This is overcome by the establishing 
of the understanding that no man can gain promotion until he 
has prepared a man to follow him when he goes up. The 
condition of his own advancement becomes the preparation of 
his successor. In the Association this fear is not operative. 
There is such a demand for trained men that good men are not 
afraid of being laid aside or replaced. The situation is all 
favorable to the training of understudies. 

The chief criticism of the actual operation of the understudy 
system is directed at the type of men chosen as understudies. 
Somehow men usually choose inferiors in quality as their 
subordinates in position. The man chosen to supplement the 
executive is rarely of the quality of his chief. As a result, 
when the head man is removed and his place filled by the man 
he has trained, there is often a let down in the quality of the 
occupant of the position. The man you choose to follow you 
should be at least as good a man as yourself — worthy of ad- 
vancement and capable of doing even better work than his 
predecessor. Hunt for such men. 

From the point of view of the employing concern, it has the 
choice of either understudying its important positions and hav- 
ing trained men available in emergencies due to loss or pro- 
posed expansion, or breaking in new and relatively untried men 
as executives. The former policy is the cheaper in the long 
run. Further, the reputation of pursuing such a policy draws 
strong men into the junior positions in hope of advancement. 
Can we pay enough to hold competent understudies? Yes. 
The man will more than produce his cost during the years of 



n6 TRAINING A STAFF 

preparation. This is the answer of industry and of common 
sense. 

An engineer named Frank B. Gilbreth has worked out an 
interesting system of promotion, in which each man is the coach 
of another man and is himself being coached by the man ahead 
of him. Applied to our work, each secretary is related to three 
positions. The three positions are as follows : first, the lowest, 
the position that the man has last occupied in the organization ; 
second, the position that the man is occupying at present in 
the organization; third, and highest, the position that the man 
will next occupy. "He belongs to the group next higher up as 
a learner, and part of his time is spent in preparing for promo- 
tion to that group. The members of this higher-up group must 
coach the younger men. He belongs to his own group, in which 
he cooperates with other members in learning his duties. He 
belongs to the group lower down as a teacher, and part of his 
time is devoted to instructing some one in this lower group to 
take his place." This conception of the three-fold group fills 
the whole staff with the spirit of cooperation and mutual 
improvement. 

No one plan will be so effective in the training of men as the 
complete development of this understudy relation, in which 
every secretary is looking to the training of younger men, and 
each junior secretary is encouraged to prepare for promotion. 
A wise secretary will seek to teach his understudy everything 
which he himself knows, and will continually seek to bring out 
all there is in the younger men. The older secretary will 
especially seek to train the younger men in willingness to 
assume responsibility and in ability to carry it. 

b. Ways of training an understudy 

(i) Take him along on important calls to meet men and 
learn how to approach and deal with them. 

(2) Take him to meetings in which he will experience some 
of the contacts, opportunities, obligations, and relationships of 
the general secretary. 

(3) Have him attend directors' meetings and committee 
meetings, taking some part in calling the meeting, deciding 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 117 

what is to go before it and how, and participating in the meet- 
ing itself. 

(4) Have him go over some of your correspondence with 
you, discussing the issues involved in the various letters and 
how they should be answered. Have him answer some of them 
himself. 

(5) Show him some of your letters, including "thank you" 
letters and soliciting letters. 

(6) Send him on important errands for you. 

(7) Have him accompany you to gatherings of secretaries 
to which you have been invited. 

(8) Assign actual tasks to him of a worthy nature, so that 
he will learn the game by playing it. 

(9) Talk over your problems with him and use him in 
solving them. Work together. 

(10) Share with him all the relationships possible. 

(11) Direct his reading. 

(12) Go to places together — to the club, walking, to your 
home, to conventions — and thus afford opportunity for leisurely 
discussion of things mutually interesting. 

4. Special Coaching Occasions 

Think into the kinds of occasions when men will need special 
coaching or concentrated attention. In addition to those al- 
ready named or implied there may be mentioned these : 

a. When a man is about to undertake a new task, work in- 
volving unaccustomed processes or new kinds of skill or 
problems. 

b. When you begin to make a specialist out of a man whose 
duties have been general. 

c. When you must prepare a man for a new position in 
your organization. 

d. When you are uncertain as to a man. 

e. When he is a good man but lacks team-play. 

f. When you fear a "fall down," or a man is in a tight place. 

g. When you see a piece of faulty work. 



n8 TRAINING A STAFF 

h. When a man is discouraged or has exhausted his own 
resources. 

i. When he has made a bad break and not seen it. 

5. The Coaching Question 

As in problem teaching and project work, the best means of 
securing thoughtful action and resourceful initiative is through 
the use of questions. Instead of telling a man outright what 
to do, ask him questions that will reveal the conditions in- 
volved and lead to his rinding his own answer or way out. The 
self-discovered point or method is more likely to be faithfully 
or enthusiastically observed than one pointed out or imposed 
by another. 

Of course, each coaching occasion is really a brief project, 
and a man's action should be guided here just as in a regularly 
outlined project of more serious proportions. The questions 
will usually be extemporaneous, but at times they will have been 
carefully planned. You will discover something you wish to 
correct and devise a good series of questions calculated to 
secure the desired improvement. 

Therefore practice the question method of coaching. The 
results will repay the effort. Skill in questioning as a method 
of directing work is a talent to be highly prized. It secures 
results in growth, initiative, resourcefulness, good feeling, and 
morale in the staff that can be secured in no other way. Once 
you get the secret of this process you will find the employment 
of it so interesting and pleasurable that its use will be a constant 
source of satisfaction to you, not to mention its benefits to the 
men thus coached. 

6. The Happy Medium 

In all this coaching, preserve a fine balance between too much 
coaching and too little. Your coaching will stimulate or stunt, 
inspire or irritate, help or hinder, steady or stampede. It is 
not always easy to know where to draw the line. Perhaps it is 
well to err on the side of too little, but why err at all? Like 
all problems, this one yields to study. 



COACHING: THE UNDERSTUDY RELATION 119 

VI. Records 

Corporations with men in training for executive positions 
have found it advisable to keep records of the qualities and 
progress of men. The data for these reports are gotten from 
observation of the man in his class-work, his projects, his 
regular duties, but perhaps best of all from the coaching con- 
tacts. The record card should contain a list of qualities on the 
left, with blank squares opposite them on the right for oc- 
casional entries, once a month or more or less frequent. The 
Westinghouse Students' Record is on card-board $>%■ x I0 /4 
inches. The upper third contains the fundamental facts as to 
the student's age, education, residence, previous experience, col- 
lege activities, and a place for a small photograph. The middle 
third is a place in which to record his experience in the various 
departments • of the company, with dates. The lower third, 
called ''Progress Report," lists fifteen characteristics in a 
vertical column, with twenty-five squares opposite each in 
which to enter a monthly record. The characteristics are: in- 
terest in work, application, aptitude, reliability, self-confidence, 
initiative, aggressiveness, executive ability, personality, coop- 
eration, business tact, conduct, neatness, accuracy, speed. Be- 
low are three lines for remarks. 

Perhaps only the larger Associations would care for such a 
record. Smaller ones might use it to advantage, however, all 
with modifications to suit special situations. 

A study of record cards leads to the suggestion that the card 
should contain all the fundamental facts about a man ; a photo- 
graph of him ; a place for recording his varied experience with 
the local Association, with an estimate of the quality of work 
done and ability shown; a list of qualities considered essential 
in a secretary, and spaces for frequent estimates as to the man's 
possession of these qualities; and space for the entry of those 
facts that no questionnaire quite fits, simply blank lines for 
remarks. This will require a letter-file size card of good 
quality, and privately kept. Opinion varies as to whether this 
card should or should not be shown to the student. 



120 TRAINING A STAFF 

VII. Questions for Further Study 

i. How frequently should coaching be given a young sec- 
retary ? 

2. What psychological laws afford guidance in the coaching 
process ? 

3. What principles of good pedagogy find application here 
and should be observed? 

4. What do you consider the coach's part to be in turning 
out winning athletes? 

5. Which of these findings apply to the coaching work of a 
general secretary? 

6. How would you begin work on the coaching of a new 
employe ? 

7. In what specific duties is coaching necessary and effective ? 
Concerning what features and relationships? 

8. What should be the mental attitude of the secretary 
toward the man he is coaching? 

9. What positions on the Association staff should be under- 
studied ? 

10. Devise a record form to be used in keeping record of a 
secretary's history and progress. 

11. What qualities make a man successful in the sort of 
coaching developed here? 



CHAPTER VI 

READING AND STUDY 

Analysis 

I. A Study of the Reading Situation 

i. How many books do you read a year? 

2. Why do not Association secretaries read more? 

3. Why do they feel they ought to read? 

4. The rewards of well-planned reading 

II. Concrete Suggestions 

1. What to read 

a. As to aim and content 

b. As to form 

2. A reading policy for an Association secretary 

a. Majors 

b. Minors 

c. Browsing 

d. Magazines 

e. A sample list 

3. Sources of information about books 

a. Book reviews 

b. "Helpful Reading" 

c. Librarians 

d. Bibliographies 

e. Advertisements 

f. Conversation 

g. Book stores 

4. How to secure books 

a. Draw from the library 

b. Borrow them 

c. Buy them 

d. Have the Association buy them 

5. Where and when to read 

III. How to Get the Most out of Reading 

1. Have an aim 

a. The will to master a subject 
121 



122 TRAINING A STAFF 

b. The desire to solve a problem 

c. Seek the author's aim 

d. Assume an obligation 

2. Mark the book 

3. Take notes 

4. Take book tests 

5. Apply your findings 

6. Retain a critical attitude 

7. Observe proper physical conditions 

IV. Getting Reading and Study Assignments 
V. McMurry's Eight Factors in Study 
VI. References 

Problem 

How can reading and study be made to contribute to profes- 
sional growth? 

I. A Study of the Reading Situation 

1. How Many Books Do You Read a Year? 

a. Take a pencil and write down the titles of the books you 
have read during the past twelve months, or, if your memory 
does not retain the titles for the whole year, prepare a list of 
those you have read during three months. This will help you 
to find something like your annual book reading. Perhaps you 
have kept a record by months in your pocket date-book; this 
has been found to be a good plan, with a goal set for each 
month. What is your total? The question has been asked of 
a large number of secretaries. The answers fall into three 
groups: about six, about twelve, about forty; the last number 
is quite the exception ; there are far more reports of six than 
of twelve, and five is very common. In other words, large 
numbers of secretaries are reading but one book every two 
months, or even fewer books than this. 

2. Why Do Not Association Secretaries Read More? 

a. They are too occupied with administrative detail. Work- 
ing long hours, they prefer to use their few hours of leisure 
either in exercise, in being with their families, or in more 



READING AND STUDY 123 

restful ways than solid reading. Some of these men could be 
led to realize that in well-directed reading, chosen because of 
its bearing upon problems in hand, they would find ways of 
increasing their working efficiency and reducing the grind. 

b. They do not know just what books to secure, and have 
not found or devised plans of laying out their reading. 

c. Many have not definitely selected subjects upon which 
they wish information, or fields in which they wish to be expert 
or at least informed. So there is no inward push toward books. 

d. Others just naturally have no intellectual interests and 
no taste for reading. 

e. The home situation of some is not favorable to reading. 

f. Some have tried, gotten nothing out of it, and quit. 

g. A few are handicapped by eyes that soon reach their 
limit. 

j. Why Do They Feel They Ought to Read? 

Many secretaries admit the obligation to devote time to read- 
ing, even time during the working hours of the day, and feel 
they ought to read more or less deeply and widely for the fol- 
lowing reasons : 

a. They want information on subjects related to their work, 
such as business administration, religious education, biblical 
interpretation, and Association theory and practice, especially 
new developments. They need definite help, and believe that 
answers to their problems can be found in reading. 

b. Some want interesting knowledge in cultural fields, and 
have intellectual interests they like to cultivate and feel they 
ought to, if for no other reason than to keep them in touch 
with the. growing men of their city and to enable them to 
talk other things than Y M C A. They want to "keep up." 

c. Some know the power that lies in books and want it. 

d. The tendencies, movements, and currents of thought and 
events are reported and reflected in good books and magazines. 
With these things secretaries know they must be acquainted. 

e. Generally speaking, they feel they ought to read because 
they realize reading is both a means and a mark of growth. 



124 TRAINING A STAFF 

4. The Rewards of Well-Planned Reading 

Being large and real, the rewards of well-planned reading 
are readily named and easily recognized. 

a. Growth, in caliber and power. 

b. Inspiration. 

c. Broad culture. 

d. Knowledge. 

e. Wide vision, a more distant horizon. 

f. Standing. 

g. A sense of being at home in any group. 

h. Increasing skill as a student; in John Dewey's compact 
sentence, "the habitual power of effective mental attack." 

II. Concrete Suggestions 
1. What to Read 

a. As to aim and content 

A well-rounded reading policy will include literature of four 
kinds : 

(1) Informational, facts needed in one's daily work or con- 
tact with people. 

(2) Inspirational, reading that lifts one up, cheers him, in- 
creases his zeal, and reenforces his powers. 

(3) Cultural, in the generally understood use of the word. 

(4) Recreational, things read just for fun. 

Now, one book may supply all of these elements, any com- 
bination of them, or only one ; the predominating factor would 
be the basis of classification. "Twelve Principles of Efficiency" 
is an informational book, though it brings inspiration to most 
men and culture to some. Sherlock Holmes most of us would 
classify as recreational and read him as such. 

b. As to form 

Books, pamphlets, magazines, and papers will comprehend 
the general run of material to be read, and a good policy will 
include them all. As a general thing, men spend far too much 
time on magazines and an almost sinful number of hours on 
newspapers. Books and pamphlets carried about might well 



READING AND STUDY 125 

replace the too-much-read daily news, most of which is useless, 
much inaccurate, some altogether misleading, and nearly all of 
it sufficiently acquired from a reading of the headlines. To 
spend time reading very many of the columns of the afternoon 
paper when the morning paper is daily examined is sheer waste. 
Many secretaries who say they have no time to read books 
spend an hour or more a day on newspapers, to small profit. 
The progress of current events is well kept up with by reading 
the carefully gleaned reports in the Literary Digest or the 
Outlook, for instance, supplemented by fifteen or twenty 
minutes a day with a good morning paper. 

Many hours of reading time are devoted to rather valueless 
articles or relatively poor stories in magazines. Much of this 
time could with advantage be transferred to serious consecutive 
book reading, or to novels of current or standard interest. 
Much magazine reading is scattered and futile; the magazines 
are built to pass time, and succeed admirably. However, not 
the abandoning of magazines and newspapers and complete 
devotion to books, but a balanced ration is what is here pleaded 
for, and more connection in what is read. Upon what one 
subject is a man better informed after the scattering reading 
of monthly magazines ? The plea here is that depth is sacrificed 
to a rather aimless breadth. 

There could, of course, easily be the same lack of relation 
between the books one reads. How can one unify and balance 
his more solid reading? The following policy may contain a 
suggestion. 

2. A Reading Policy for an Association Secretary 

Decide upon the reading you wish to undertake during the 
coming months and. lay out a plan covering the desired ground. 
Such a plan involves the subject to be studied, the books to be 
bought or drawn from the library, magazines to be read, and 
the time of each day or week to be devoted to reading. A 
clear statement of what you wish to accomplish, your aim, and 
the result you seek in each subject chosen will help both in the 
planning and in the execution of the reading. One clause in 



126 TRAINING A STAFF 

such a policy should be a statement of the number of books 
to be read during the year. One book a month is little enough ; 
two a month is a good and desirable standard. Some read a 
book a week. 

This pre-arranged reading will not prevent the reading of 
important books as they come out, or the taking up of new 
subjects or lines of research as special occasions and needs 
arise. The plan is a guide, not a jailer. 

Experience indicates the desirability of a reading policy 
drawn up along the lines explained below. Typewrite your 
policy and keep it where you are sure to see it now and again. 

a. Majors 

(i) A "major" subject is one to which the greater part of a 
student's attention is given during a year or a series of years. 
The Association secretary will find it desirable to plan major 
reading along two lines. 

(a) Professional: Under this head are included such books, 
magazines, reports, and pamphlets as give wider or more in- 
tensive knowledge of the Association movement, a better under- 
standing of the aims, purposes, and history of the departments 
of the work, and increased skill in technical activities. 

(b) Related general knowledge: Under this head is in- 
cluded reading which gives an understanding of social, eco- 
nomic, religious, educational, business, and industrial con- 
ditions, forces, and agencies, in relation to which the Associa- 
tion must pursue its own activities. Such reading might well 
deal also with the philosophic and scientific thought of the 
time. It promotes the professional development of the em- 
ployed officer, enriches his intellectual life, and widens his 
outlook. 

(2) Suggested Majors 

(a) Professional: Choose three out of a year's total of 
twelve books, or five out of twenty-four books. 

Books bearing on the history, principles, and methods of As- 
sociation work, including convention reports. The assigned 
reading in the training center secretarial class comes under this 
head. 



READING AND STUDY 127 

The Bible, Bible study courses, and special religious litera- 
ture. 

Books bearing on the work of the department in which the 
employed officer is engaged, as administration, religious work, 
educational, physical, or boys' work. 

(b) Related general knowledge : Choose three of the year's 
twelve books, or six of twenty-four books. 

Books on sociology, economics, problems of modern life, 
missions, educational theory and practice, psychology, religious 
education, vocational guidance, management and administra- 
tion. 

b. Minors 

(1) "Minor" subjects are those to which a student decides 
to give some, but minor, attention. Such subjects are mainly 
for cultural purposes. They may be read at intervals during 
the year, or each minor subject may be taken up seriously for 
a few weeks or months and then given no further attention that 
year. Possibly five such subjects might be studied during a 
year. Two books may be read in each minor. 

These minors, hobbies they may be, represent one's point of 
conract with life, the channels through which the riches of the 
world of thought and experience reach him — the more chan- 
nels, the more riches. They are the beautiful avenues along 
which he walks in his leisure time, or created leisure. The 
fruit he picks and the views he gets rest a tired body and revive 
a jaded spirit. During these short happy periods the imagina- 
tion is given reins, the separations of time and distance are for- 
gotten; the greatest and most interesting of personalities are 
one's companions, and the treasures of the world are all about. 
Each of these approaches to life is a window for the soul; they 
are the spirit's sources of light and air. "May blessings be 
upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was 
that invented books." 

(2) Suggested minors. Choose six of twelve or thirteen of 
twenty-four books; at least one in each of four minors. 

(a) Literature, including essays, poetry, the classics in Eng- 
lish translations, and current fiction. 



128 TRAINING A STAFF 

(b) Biography. All doors are open to him who reads 
biography. 

(c) Travel. Organize a private "travel at home" club, and 
visit many strange countries. Such tours, though personally 
conducted, are inexpensive. 

(d) Science. The field is wide and books and magazines 
are plentiful. 

(e) History, particularly that of modern times. We live in 
the greatest of all historical periods. 

(f) Music. A good book and a few phonograph records 
open this window. 

(g) Art, including architecture. What makes a painting a 
good painting? When is a church pure Gothic? 

(h) Philosophy. Look up "pragmatism" as a modern view 
of things. 

(i) Missions. The word has new meaning since the war. 

(j) International relations. America is entering new phases 
of foreign policy. 

(k) Theology. What have the great thinkers thought about 
God? 

(1) Biblical research. An intellectual recreation now fairly 
"safe." 

c. Browsing 

Systematic reading does not preclude browsing through 
books and doing a certain amount of random reading, especially 
of such books as appear from time to time and win large, if but 
temporary, attention. 

d. Magazines 

In addition to majors and minors in systematic reading, the 
executive officer should do some reading in the higher grade 
magazines, along the following lines. There is no need of read- 
ing the whole magazine. 

(i) Technical, relating to the work a man is doing. 

(2) News and interpretation, such a magazine as the 
Outlook, the Literary Digest, or the New Republic. 

(3) Religious, such as the Congregationalist or the Continent. 

(4) Fiction, such as Scribner's. 



READING AND STUDY 129 

(5) Scientific, such as the National Geographic. 

(6) Miscellaneous articles, such as the Atlantic Monthly and 
the American Magazine. 

(7) Do you enjoy Life? Many do. You may quote Living- 
stone of Africa as your sanction for such reading. 

e. A Sample List 

A list built on the lines suggested here would look like the 
one below. This is merely an illustration and is in no sense a 
recommended list of books. It should not be taken as such. 
Books are mentioned simply to make the suggestion concrete. 

Reading List for 1020-21 — At Least Two Books a Month 
I. Majors. 

1. Professional: 

a. Association history, principles, and methods. 

Training center courses. 

b. Bible. 

"The Religious Experience of Israel," Hutchins. 
"The Jesus of History," Glover. 

c. Theory of Education. 
"Methods of Teaching," Charters. 
"What Is Education?" Moore. 

"The Project Method in Education," Branom. 

2. Related general knowledge : 

a. "Religion among American Men," The Commit- 
tee on the War and the Religious Outlook. 
"Social Control," Ross. 

"The Missionary Outlook in the Light of the War," 
The Committee on the War and the Religious 
Outlook. 
II. Minors. 

1. Literature: 

a. The classics in English translations. Homer's 

"Iliad" or "Odyssey." 

b. Current fiction. Four a year. 
"Blacksheep, Blacksheep," Nicholson. 
"Whirligigs," O. Henry. 

"The Great Impersonation," Oppenheim. 
"The Wisdom of Father Brown," Chesterton. 



130 TRAINING A STAFF 

c. Poetry and essays. 

John Masefield's "Everlasting Mercy." 
Alfred Noyes's poems. 

A couple of Emerson's essays, such as "Friendship" 
and "Self-Reliance." 

2. Biography: 

"Marse Henry," Henry Watterson. 
"Lincoln, Master of Men," Rothschild. 

3. History: "Modern China," Sih-Gung Cheng. 

4. Architecture: "The Appreciation of Architecture," 

Sturgis. 

5. Philosophy: 
"Pragmatism," William James. 

"Five Great Philosophies of Life," W. D. Hyde. 

III. Magazines. 

1. Technical, Association Men. 

2. News, Outlook. 

3. Religious, Continent. 

4. Fiction and miscellaneous, Scribner'.s. 

5. Scientific, National Geographic. 

J. Sources of Information about Books 

"How do you decide what to read? Where do you get 
your information about books?" There are several good 
sources of such information. 

a. Book reviews 

The magazines that have been previously mentioned print 
excellent book reviews which are a feature of every issue. 
Such reviews should be read if only to know what subjects are 
being treated and what the tendencies are in book publication, 
which means in the taste of the book-buying public ; for books 
are not printed just for conscience' sake. The book review 
section of the New York Times is worth subscribing for. It 
comes out every Sunday. 

b. "Helpful Reading" 

A pamphlet which bears this title and which contains 
books under more than 150 subjects is published by Associa- 
tion Press, 347 Madison Ave., New York, and sells for 
twenty-five cents. It was prepared by Jay A. Urice for the 



READING AND STUDY 131 

use of Association employed officers. Each book listed is 
described and priced. The list represents all publishers. 

c. Libraries 

When one wishes to read up on any particular subject 
and does not know what books to secure, let him consult the 
city librarian, to whom the giving of such information is a 
pleasure, his form of golf. Further, it is advisable to note the 
lists of books added to the libraries from time to time, and to 
consult the special shelves or racks made most accessible to 
the public as suggested reading. 

d. Bibliographies 

Most serious books give lists of other books to be read on the 
same subject. 

e. Advertisements 

Xote what books are being pushed by the publishers. Draw 
them from the library. 

f. Conversation 

Ask your friends what they are reading. One learns about 
books as he talks books. 

g. Book stores 

Go in and look around. There is no obligation to buy. 

4. How to Secure Books 

a. Chiefly, draw T them from the library 

One cannot afford to buy all the books he wishes to read, 
nor, even if he could, would such purchasing be desirable. 
Most books are to be read but once. Those one wishes 
to keep for further use or reference are few and far between, 
and the public library is always there. Especially does 
this apply to current fiction. Let the library do this purchasing. 
Most libraries have funds for the purchase of new books, and 
are glad of suggestions as to books the public wants. The 
Association secretary is a citizen of significance and his request 
for a certain book, especially a book of character, is likely to 
be honored. 

b. Borrow them 

We scarcely dare breathe the idea, having suffered loss. Yet 



132 TRAINING A STAFF 

it is an ancient custom, and there are still a few folks who 
return borrowed books. 

c. Buy them 

Having hedged this kind of investment about with the two 
limitations just suggested, we now have the more courage 
to urge extensive purchases of books of technical or permanent 
value. Lawyers, ministers, engineers — all these know they 
have to put money into books as a basis of their work and 
profession. Let the Association secretary hold no lower ideal 
for his calling, and be equally willing to make the necessary 
investments in vocational foundations. 

This purchased library, built up year by year and never 
bought at one fell swoop, will be built around three ideas: 
technical publications, standard literature and reference books, 
and those minors that represent one's personal tastes and in- 
terests. Such books, the choice ones, are proper investments. 
The intention to mark, reread, refer to, and use is the guiding 
principle. The professional man without a library is loosely 
anchored in his vocation, and probably regards both it and 
himself lightly. 

In order to encourage the younger secretaries in the pur- 
chase of the literature of the vocation and to start their techni- 
cal libraries, one general secretary presented to each new man 
as he came to his staff three of the best Association publications 
dealing with history and methods, a nest-egg to encourage 
further laying. 

d. Have the Association buy them 

Every Association should develop a reference library of 
Association literature for the training of the staff, containing 
all the books listed in Appendix D, and added to from time to 
time. It will contain in addition many pamphlets, commission 
and convention reports, Year Books, and files of Association 
Men. To insure its largest use, it should be so located as to be 
readily accessible to the members of the staff without too much 
effort being involved in the securing of a book. Perhaps an 
open case in the general secretary's office would do in many 
places. It depends upon the general secretary. 



READING AND STUDY 133 

5. Where and When to Read 

Suggestions drawn from many men reveal a variety of 
places in which reading can be done. The list includes the 
car or train going to and from work, the train on trips, home, 
the office, and in bed at night before going to sleep. Inquiries 
as to time show that secretaries read an hour in the early 
morning, certain scheduled evenings of the week, occasionally 
or systematically at the office, Sundays, in vacations, on days 
off, and at miscellaneous odd times. The scheduled home read- 
ing planned for certain evenings each week and on days off 
seems to be .the most practical. Secretaries-in-training 
should have their schedules so planned as to be sure to make 
proper provision for reading and study. 

Where a whole evening is available, the forty-five minutes 
following dinner might be used for lighter reading, the best 
hour and a half used in solid study, and any remaining time 
before retiring given to fiction, poetry, or other things that get 
the mind away from too serious affairs. 

III. How to Get the Most out of Reading 

What are the aids to concentration while reading and to 
conservation of results? Where no immediate utility spurs 
the pursuit of knowledge, there must be what one writer calls 
''the will to learn." It implies the determination to apply one's 
self and the persuasion of one's self that learn he can and will. 
It is the will to continue, plus conviction that achievement is 
within reach — "They can who think they can," added to 
"Never say die." The heart of the motto of Napoleon's old 
guard was its phrase, "The Guard does not surrender." 

Here are some aids, "practical as a load of brick" — to use a 
Rooseveltian phrase. 

1. Have an Aim 

It may be any one of four : 

a. The will to master a subject 

This is a dogged sort of aim without much joy in it. The 
next one works a lot better. 



i 3 4 TRAINING A STAFF 

b. The desire to solve a problem 

Here there is a motive. We seek the answer to a question, 
a way out of a difficulty, light upon a subject, help in a task. 
Pushed on by this real incentive, books or chapters are chosen 
because they hold something we want and we search until that 
data, information, or knowledge is found. When you want to 
read with real zeal, arm yourself with a question or two and 
seek the answer in the text. Before beginning a book, or as 
soon as you know what it is all about, frame several questions 
and consider the matter read in its bearing upon them. After 
reading the introduction to "The Missionary Outlook in the 
Light of the War," the following questions were written out, 
lettered a, b, c, d, e, and all paragraphs containing material on 
each question were marked with that letter in the margin : 

(a) To what extent are the aims of the war and the aims 
of missions the same? (b) How far is the missionary cause 
succeeding? (c) What is the relation of missions to world 
peace? (d) What obligations do our war professions impose 
upon us to continue to seek these aims in peace through mis- 
sions? (e) What world problems can missions help solve? 

Of course a score of other questions could have been used, 
and actually lay more or less active in the mind. This process 
may seem limiting. As a matter of fact, if one reads a chapter 
just to get light on one question, he will get far more out of the 
chapter than if he reads the chapter to get all there is in it. 
You succeed at one point instead of failing at a dozen. At 
least this is the experience of many students. Try the method. 
The conditions are simple : a "thought-provoking situation" 
creating the motive for the study, a book supposed to contain 
something about it, a clear question as the hook to drag through 
the book. Many troll through a book with no hooks on their 
line, and catch accordingly. 

c. The discovery of the author's purpose 

Next to having an aim of your own lies the value of seeking 
the author's aim. Try to find out why he wrote, what he 
sought to prove, expound, or illuminate, and measure his 
success. 



READING AND STUDY 135 

d. The fulfilment of an obligation 

Promise to give an address upon a subject about which you 
know nothing. This is a splendid method of creating mo- 
tive and interest in reading. The obligation to speak on 
the Balkan Wars was once assumed by one who knew prac- 
tically nothing about them. Maps, magazines, and books were 
brought into requisition, and three weeks of most profitable 
and interesting reading resulted. A promise to lead a debate 
on the subject of divorce led to similar thorough work. It is a 
good goad to hard study and careful reading. The suggestion 
was given to a group of young college men by John R. Mott 
some twenty years ago and followed by at least one of them. 
When one is reading thus with a definite purpose he will not 
hesitate to omit irrelevant matter, skip sections or even chap- 
ters, and quit when he has secured what he sought. 

2. Mark the Book 

There are various methods of marking the pages you read. 
Some underscore the chief sentence in the best paragraphs, 
using straight, broken, or wavy lines to indicate different 
things. Different colored pencils are sometimes used thus. 
Other times good sections of a paragraph are side-lined with 
one, two, or three vertical lines. Where one is reading a book 
for a distinct purpose, a small circle or star opposite pertinent 
paragraphs is made, and at the end of the reading these are 
easily found again and used or copied. A book was recently 
read in search of data on two different topics. Small circles 
were used to indicate the first and check marks the second. 

Later, when one wishes to recall the impressions and ideas 
gained from a book, the whole content is quickly brought up by 
simply reading the marked sections. 

Thoughtful readers at times seek to put the idea of a para- 
graph into a topic of a few words and write this on the margin. 
The gains of a chapter are written out at the end. The inside 
back cover is sometimes used as a place for notes on what is 
read, what to go back to, and so on. 

The resolution to mark carefully makes one read with added 



136 TRAINING A STAFF 

attention. Summarizing requires concentration. The whole 
process, though it slows up progress, adds much to one's inter- 
est in a book. To reopen a marked book is like meeting an old 
friend. 

3. Take Notes 

This requires reading at a table, with an armed chair, or at 
least with pencil and paper handy. Some men carry 3x5 
paper in a small pocket book and make notes upon it for future 
filing and use. Surely a careful and thrifty reader will take 
notes, but there is a danger to be guarded against. In com- 
mitting something to one's notes for future use, the present 
impression is likely to be weakened. A deep present impres- 
sion may be more valuable than a note. Do not let the taking 
of notes excuse you from careful immediate attention to what 
is read. 

One takes notes usually for one of four purposes : To file ; 
to use before filing or without filing; as part of an abstract; 
for largest immediate practicability, as "things to do." The 
pocket note paper system here fills a need. 

4. Take Book Tests 

The Examination Council of the International Committee 
provides a set of questions or review outline for any book any 
secretary wishes to read. These are sent in advance of the 
reading, upon request accompanied by twenty-five cents. If 
a creditable review is written, a certificate is issued. Three of 
these book tests are supposed to be taken prior to each session 
of the summer school by all who plan to attend. 

5. Apply Your Findings 

Use them in some way. In an article in the Inter collegian 
Professor H. H. Home of New York University said: "So 
the completed cycle of study is, first, problem; second, solution ; 
third, action. Edison has made us familiar with 'light, heat, 
power.' Changing the order somewhat, our problem is heat, 
our solution is light, and our action is power ; or in psychologi- 



READING AND STUDY 137 

cal terms, our problem is feeling, our solution is thought, and 
our action is will. This cycle is repeated over and over in life, 
or should be." 

Let us then complete the cycle of our reading by appropriate 
action. Use the idea in some way, if only as material for 
friendly conversation. Tell about what you have read. Dis- 
cuss it with others. Write an article embodying it. Use it in 
an address. This much is certain — it is either use or lose. 

6. Retain a Critical Attitude 

All that one reads is not to be taken as true — this book, of 
course, excepted. Examine carefully to see if each writer 
makes his case, where he leaves the track, what his sources of 
error are. Strayer and Norsworthy in "How to Teach" give 
four points as fundamental to good habits of study : A clear 
purpose, a vital interest of some kind, concentrated attention, 
and a critical attitude. Of course a fifth point, application or 
use in some life situation, should be added, but the fourth 
point is the one upon which attention is for the moment being 
centered; scientific doubt some call it; the habit of being from 
Missouri less classical persons of more rude culture would say. 
The point at least is clear, and we add only that this genuinely 
helpful attitude must not be overdone. Scientific doubt and 
general unbelief are not synonymous; and of all distasteful 
creatures, deliver us from the all-round skeptic. 

7. Observe Proper Physical Conditions 

These were summarized above as freedom from interruption 
and annoyance. The factors to be secured are fresh air, com- 
fortable chair and table, light from the direction of the left 
shoulder and in sufficient quantity, an eye-shade, about seventy 
degrees of heat, quiet, and a body not too tired from other 
things. Get up and stretch or move about once in a while. 

IV. Getting Reading and Study Assignments 

When these are made — and they should be made — time must 
be allowed for them, time during working hours, for this 



138 TRAINING A STAFF 

preparation and training are part of the young secretary's duty 
and part of his compensation. 

The great key to getting an assignment or lesson is the 
famous Dewey problem approach. The student may ask him- 
self these questions: 

i. What is the problem here? What are the issues, ques- 
tions, difficulties? 

2. What data is given bearing upon this problem, issue, or 
difficulty ? 

Here, in addition to any text assignment, it may be desirable 
to consult reference books, the encyclopedia, and the dictionary, 
to interview people, or to perform experiments. Memory and 
reason also supply suggestions. 

3. What value have these suggestions? They must be 
weighed, sifted, examined, evaluated, and accepted or rejected 
for good reasons. 

4. To what conclusion does all this lead? 

5. Will this conclusion stand all the tests I can bring to bear 
upon it ? 

6. What action grows out of these considerations? 
Preparation made along this line will be thorough. It should 

be supplemented with the occasional memorizing of important 
dates (of which there are only a few), names (equally few), 
and once in a while an important passage. 

A paragraph from "How to Study," a pamphlet by Prof. 
G. F. Swain of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology, is worth quoting here: 

"Be systematic. Have set times for your study of each sub- 
ject, a regular program of work. Gain the habit of being able 
to start at once on your work without frittering away your time 
and thinking about beginning. Apply yourself steadily and 
persistently and do not let your work consist of a series of 
spasmodic efforts. By systematically doing one thing at a time 
and passing from study to study, you can finally, after a period 
of continuous application dependent upon your powers, alter- 
nate with a period of relaxation or amusement. Your period of 
continuous study should not be so short as to prevent contin- 
uous effort, nor so long as to over-fatigue your mind. Some 



READING AND STUDY 139 

students are restless, spasmodic, and while they seem to be 
continually employed, they achieve nothing. Others by a 
steady, continuous pull, achieve much." 

These suggestions apply not only to the young secretary who 
has a class to prepare for, but equally well to the general secre- 
tary who has an important interview, or a committee or 
directors' meeting for which to prepare. The use of this ap- 
proach will both save time and increase the sureness of results. 

V. McMurry's Eight Factors in Study 

In 1909, Professor F. M. McMurry of Columbia University 
issued a book called "How to Study and Teaching How to 
Study," a work of 324 pages with a good index, and published 
by Houghton Mifflin Co. It is the most comprehensive work 
on the subject, the classic in its sphere, and should be read by 
all who wish to get more out of reading and study. It is writ- 
ten around eight "factors in study," stated thus: 

1. A specific purpose as a factor in study. 

2. The supplementing of thought as a factor in study. 

3. The organization of ideas as a factor in study. 

4. The judgment of the worth of statements as a factor in 
study. 

5. Memorizing as a factor in study. 

6. The using of ideas as a factor in study. 

7. The tentative attitude as a factor in study. 

8. Provision for individuality as a factor in study. 

If this chapter leads you to desire further investiga- 
tion along this line, begin with Professor McMurry's book 
and then consult such other of the reference books below as are 
available. 

Not having done so before, one may now properly quote 
Bacon's famous dictum : "Reading maketh a full man." 

VI. References 

1. How to Study. F. M. McMurry. 1909. The best general 
book on the subject. 



i 4 o TRAINING A STAFF 

2. Teaching Children to Study. L. B. Earhart. 1909. A 
fine discussion based on the Dewey problem approach. 

3. Storytelling, Questioning, and Studying. H. H. Home. 
The third section contains interesting material on this topic. 

4. How to Teach. Strayer and Norsworthy. 1917. Pp. 220- 
233. One chapter on how to study. 

5. Types of Teaching. L. B. Earhart. Pp. 192-219. Along 
the line of "Teaching Children to Study," much abridged and not 
so helpful. 

6. Supervised Study. A. L. Hall-Quest. 1919. Pp. 62-93, 116- 
126, 161-220. Selected sections from a book of 416 pages. A most 
detailed study. 

7. How We Think. John Dewey. 1910. A book of 224 pages, 
giving all the implications of the problem approach. 

8. Democracy and Education. John Dewey. 1916. Pp. 179- 
192. One chapter devoted to thinking in education. 

9. How to Study. G. F. Swain. 1917. A 65 page pamphlet 
that has had a wide circulation. 



CHAPTER VII 

STAFF CONFERENCES 

Analysis 

I. Introduction 
II. A Study of Local Staff Conferences 

1. Present plans 

2. Nature of the participation 

3. Atmosphere 

4. Problems 

5. Strong and weak points 

6. Object 

7. Theory 

III. The Purposes of Staff Conferences and Their Achieve- 
ments 

1. Welding all activities into a unified whole 

2. Generation of enthusiasm and esprit de corps 

a. An inspirational talk 

b. Reports of achievements 

c. Elimination of uninteresting matters 

d. Democratic procedure 

e. Avoiding disputes 

f. Unanimous decision 

3. Deepening spiritual life 

4. Hearing reports of recent work 

5. Solution of difficulties 

6. Blocking out plans for committees 

7. Plans for the future 

8. Executive decision 

9. Training the less experienced secretaries 
10.' Promotion of personal work 

11. Meeting visitors 

IV. A Staff Conference Program 

1. Monday 

2. Wednesday 

3. Thursday 

141 



142 TRAINING A STAFF 

V. Arrangements as to Time and Place 

1. Time 

2. Length 

3. Place 

4. Arrangements 

5. Size of group 

VI. Strong and Weak Points 

1. Weak points 

2. Strong points 

3. Suggestions 

VII. Annual Conferences 

1. The annual setting-up conference 

2. The annual directors' and staff dinner. 

Problem 

How may staff conferences be made an effective part of the 
process of training Association secretaries? 

I. Introduction 

The trained educator, the man on the street, and those who 
come in between these two groups are agreed that the most 
effective method of training men for a vocation is actual par- 
ticipation in the planning and execution of its activities. A 
good deal has been said here about participation in productive 
work; the staff conference is introduced as a training process 
because of the opportunity it gives the younger men for taking 
part in planning these programs, and seeing them in the making. 

The material in the body of this chapter will be more helpful 
if before reading it you take pencil and paper and carefully 
answer the questions that follow this paragraph. An examina- 
tion of your own plan and a statement of your difficulties will 
sharpen your interest in the succeeding suggestions as you find 
places where they supplement your own thought. Many who 
read these questions will have had large and successful experi- 
ence with staff conferences, and the study here outlined in 
question form will bring valuable matter to the focus of atten- 
tion. Copies of notes made in answer to these queries would 
be greatly appreciated by the author; they would aid in the 



STAFF CONFERENCES 143 

further study of this important Association feature. As oc- 
casional reference has been made to lessons we might learn 
from the experience of business corporations, it may not be 
amiss to say here that the Association is in this matter of staff 
conferences probably in a position to teach. There is evidence 
to support the opinion that the Association uses this tool more 
effectively than does big business. But to our questions. 

II. A Study of Local Staff Conferences 

/. What Is Your Present Plan of Staff Conferences? 

a. How often do you have them? 

b. Where do they meet? How are the members arranged 
or seated? 

c. How long do they last? 

d. Who is present? Why? 

e. What is the program and method of procedure? 

f. How are decisions reached? What finally settles a ques- 
tion? 

g. To what extent are decisions made those of the entire 
group ? 

2. What Is the Nature of the Participation in the Conference? 

a. What percentage of the men take part in them? 

b. What is the nature of their participation? Report, dis- 
cussion, suggestion, or what? 

c. What sort of participation is expected from the younger 
men? 

d. What or how much do they contribute to the discussion? 

e. What part have they in creating plans? 

J. What Is the Atmosphere of the Staff Gatherings? 

a. How large and serious is the element of dispute? 

b. To what extent are they productive of friendship and 
cooperation ? 

c. How effective are they in stirring up enthusiasm and cre- 
ating esprit de corps? 

d. Do they help or hinder morale? Why? 



i 4 4 TRAINING A STAFF 

e. What is the attitude of the staff toward these meetings? 

f. How much of the matter discussed is of interest to all? 

4. What Do You Regard as the Chief Problems in Connection 

with Your Staff Conferences? 

5. What Are the Strong and the Weak Points in Your 

Conferences? 
List these in two parallel columns and submit this list to the 
staff for revision, or have them make independent lists and 
compare them. 

6. Why Do You Have Staff Conferences? 

What do you desire to accomplish through them? Write 
your answers before reading the questions that immediately 
follow. 

a. What is the nature and purpose of the opening religious 
exercise ? 

b. What reports of work done do you call for? 

c. What difficulties should be brought into conference? 
How are they handled? 

d. What effort is made to get a clear idea of the immediate 
week's work? How are these facts recorded? 

e. When are plans for the next month or the future 
discussed? 

f . What provision is made for training value in the con- 
ference ? 

g. How do you stimulate and enthuse the staff at these gath- 
erings? 

h. How is loyalty to and love for the Association generated ? 

i. What definite items on your program are calculated to 
secure each of the aims you seek to achieve? 

j. What opportunity for creative participation is provided 
for all? 

j. Some Special Questions on Staff Conference Theory 

a. How can staff conferences be related to the doing of per- 
sonal work by the staff? 



STAFF CONFERENCES 145 

b. What is the difference between a staff conference and a 
staff prayer meeting? What is the function of each? 

c. How do the planning activities of the staff conference and 
of standing or special committees relate to each other? What 
is the proper place of each? How can this place be best secured 
and protected? 

III. The Purposes of Staff Conferences and Their 
Achievement 

1. Welding the Activities of Each Man and Department into 
a Unified Whole 

This involves several very important elements in effective 
cooperation. There must be a basis of information as to what 
each proposes to do, a coordination of effort and an elimination 
of conflicting plans involving give and take on the part of all, 
the spirit of genuine team work, and cooperation in supplement- 
ing and reenforcing each other's plans. The staff conference, 
therefore, must early in the week provide for this interchange 
o r proposed plans. To secure this some secretaries call upon 
each secretary to state his special plans for Monday. If he has 
nothing outside his regular routine, he makes no report, or may 
merely remind the others of some important regular feature. 
After all have reported for Monday, Tuesday and the other 
days of the week are taken up. Should it develop that two 
features had been planned for the same room at the same time, 
this and other conflicts in plans are eliminated by the one mak- 
ing the change who does so at the least sacrifice. One of the 
office secretaries keeps a record of the week's events, committee 
and other meetings, and posts it in the office for reference. 
This mutual knowledge of each other's plans gives each secre- 
tary the chance during the week to help promote the other's 
features as he has opportunity, and also to offer suggestions in 
conference. It has been found helpful to confine the Monday 
conference to the work of the present week or the next week 
at most, taking up all future events and policies at another 
meeting on Thursday. 



146 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. Generation of Enthusiasm and Esprit de Corps 

Nothing is more important to the successful working of the 
staff than this matter of atmosphere, and in no place can in- 
spiration be imparted, sympathy experienced, and common pur- 
pose and joy in the work created more effectively than in the 
regular gatherings of the staff. 

a. Open the meeting with an inspiring Scripture reading, fol- 
lowed by a short talk of not over five minutes with "lift" in it. 
The brave words and equally brave deeds of great men, poems 
of inspirational power, a brief extract from a helpful book, a 
quotation from a good sermon, an item from an inspiring 
biography, encouraging news items from the religious world, a 
report of a helpful conversation — for all these things the gen- 
eral secretary should be on the lookout that he may use them 
in his staff meeting to "get the men on their toes." Angela 
Morgan's poem "Today," "A Friend to Man," by Sam Walter 
Foss, and selections from Henry van Dyke's "Northwest 
Passage" meet this need. The Scriptures themselves are full of 
such material. Take Joshua I :i-o, as an illustration, I Kings 
20:13, 14, Isaiah 40:3-5, 28-37, 4 1 : 9 _I 3> Luke 4:16-19, and the 
"to him that overcometh" verses in Revelation. Study and 
cultivate the inspiring of men. 

b. Call for reports of achievements of the past few days, 
giving each an opportunity to make his contribution of encour- 
agement. 

c. Eliminate as much as possible material that is not of in- 
terest to the whole staff. Supplementary group meetings and 
private conferences should take care of all matters not of quite 
general value. 

d. Let the formation of plans be democratic. Participation 
in the formation of plans has a large relation to interest in 
carrying them out. The man who helps make a policy or plan 
is thereby committed to it in his own mind. Some very good 
general secretaries regard the staff conference as a place where 
they announce their plans, and frankly say these staff gather- 
ings are meetings, not conferences. They fail to realize that 



STAFF CONFERENCES 147 

they can command men's bodies but not their spirits. They are 
good secretaries ; they would be much better secretaries if they 
studied the psychology of enlisting men's wills in tasks and 
applied their findings. The leader should, of course, have 
ideas and plans ; the group becomes committed to them as they 
take part in elaborating the germ idea, supplying details, polish- 
ing up rough places. Does the general secretary lose his leader- 
ship in this frank confession that he has no monopoly of brains 
and that he needs and wants the help of his associates? Well, 
leadership implies a following. The democratic plan of group 
formation of policies and programs might secure them more 
hearty acceptance. It is worth trying. 

e. Never allow discussion to degenerate into dispute. All 
serious crossing of purposes should be avoided. Where a pro- 
tracted discussion involving rather deep feeling is inevitable, 
let that item be quietly taken off the program by the presiding 
officer by telling the men he will meet the parties involved after 
the staff adjourns and a way out of the difficulty will be found. 
Keep quarrels out of the general meeting. They depress the 
whole group and kill enthusiasm for the work. 

f. The plan of unanimous decision. Some leaders make it a 
point to adopt only those plans that secure unanimous consent. 
Only one side can be right, and there is value in patient discus- 
sion and waiting until all agree on some procedure. Majority 
rule in small groups is very distasteful to some majority lead- 
ers; they prefer carrying their whole group to carrying their 
point. 

j. Deepening Spiritual Life 

The inspirational Scripture reading and talk partly serve this 
purpose. Some prefer to secure this spiritual renewing by 
means of a staff prayer meeting, apart altogether from the staff 
conference, and by a first-class staff Bible class once a week. 

A staff prayer meeting is a success in deepening the spiritual 
life of the secretaries just to the extent that they enter willingly 
into it. Does the daily staff prayer meeting meet with this 
degree of success? If so, the joy is carefully concealed. Such 



148 TRAINING A STAFF 

meetings seem to be routine, perfunctory, and rather a bore as 
a rule, a "prescribed study," and rarely an "elective." Some- 
thing better than the daily meeting for prayer needs to be de- 
vised. The idea is good and the purpose to be commended ; but 
as a general thing it simply does not work, and we might as 
well honestly confess it. Experience with a good staff Bible 
class once a week seems to hold out larger promise of our 
spiritual enrichment, and the promotion of real prayer. 

Where the daily meeting for prayer is more than half dead, 
it should be discontinued and another plan tried. The issue is 
too important, the need too serious a one for a two-thirds 
failure to block the way of a successful effort. 

4. Hearing Reports of Recent Work 

The Monday morning conference is a good place to learn 
about the Sunday meeting, the Saturday night basket-ball game, 
the Saturday hike, and other features of the week-end. Brief 
reports bring everybody up to date and keep the staff together. 
This interchange usually comes early in the meeting. The 
general secretary generally has interesting information about 
Association affairs, and this is a good place to present it. 

5. Solution of Difficulties 

Early in the meeting there is usually an opportunity to tell 
about the things that have gone wrong. In response to the 
general secretary's, "Any special difficulties?" comes the story 
of the leak in the roof, the boys who use the men's department, 
the stealing in the locker room, and the trouble with a fellow 
in the dormitory. Some of these things are handled by the 
whole group; others are referred to the two or three men in- 
terested ; and some are handled by special committees of the As- 
sociation. This part of the meeting can easily be a source of 
gloom ; its wise handling can make it count in straightening out 
tangles, preventing friction, and oiling the whole machine. 

6. Blocking Out Plans for Committees 

The great danger here is that the whole committee may be 



STAFF CONFERENCES 149 

blocked out. All the arguments for allowing the whole staff to 
take part in forming plans apply with greatly added force to 
allowing committees to have a large share in planning. It is 
very easy for the staff to get on to an interesting event and 
so enjoy planning it that they do it all, and hand the proper 
committee an orange with all the juice squeezed out — then 
wondering why the committee should not enjoy an orange that 
had tasted so good to the staff. Perhaps the staff has gone as 
far as it should when it locates a tree bearing fruit, leaving it 
to the committee to do both the picking and the eating. More 
interest on the part of the committees is sure to result. Was 
it not Mr. Towson who said the secretary should be the author, 
not the finisher, of the committee? A good way of finishing 
a committee is to deprive it of all the joy of planning. 

7. Plans for the Future 

One function of the staff conference is to take a look ahead 
several weeks, months, and years, and see that all the interests 
of future events and needs are properly taken care of. The 
Hallowe'en Social comes up in September, the New Year's 
Open House in November, the spring evangelistic effort in 
January, and the new building for the boys' division almost any 
time. But they come up on days designated for the considera- 
tion of futures. The plan of using part of a Thursday morning 
staff meeting for this purpose has worked well. All things that 
come up on Monday that belong to Thursday are put over. 
The staff soon learns to play the game that way. 

8. Executive Decision 

Whether they be the arbitrary fiats of an imperial ruler of a 
staff, or the conclusions of democratic discussion, executive de- 
cisions on certain matters are necessary, and they are one of 
the purposes served in staff conference (or meeting; the czar 
never confers). Happy is the staff where executive decisions 
represent the thinking of the group. Now of course this does 
not imply that the general secretary may not decide what coat 
he is going to wear; it is meant to imply, however, that if an- 



150 TRAINING A STAFF 

other man has to wear the coat, it is a nice and courteous thing 
to allow him some voice in its selection. 

p. Training the Less Experienced Secretaries 

There is, of course, definite training value for the juniors on 
the staff in seeing plans made, in learning how difficulties are 
handled, what problems enter into the life of the Association, 
how situations are met, and what different secretaries do, and 
in witnessing every staff operation in its planning stage. To 
see all this is gain, and the junior who gets this experience, as 
all should, is getting real value. 

There is, however, another training opportunity in the staff 
conference. It is the opportunity of taking an actual part in 
forming the plans, of having his contribution to the discussion 
recognized as worthy, of seeing his offering go into the finally 
adopted scheme, of having his creative instincts aroused, his 
best genius stimulated, and his finest enthusiasm enlisted by the 
simple fact that he takes part, a responsible part, with his elders 
in formulating policies and programs and in reaching decisions. 
These great psychic forces, the very heart of effort, are enlisted 
or crushed just to the extent that the young secretary is ac- 
corded standing, pushed quietly into the background, or ig- 
nored. He may be present but not there. 

The training process must not only create machinery, it must 
get up steam. Genuine participation in the staff deliberations 
does both. And then it may well be that the keen young man 
coming on the staff from high school, business, or college will 
have a freshness of point of view and an unaffected reaction 
to suggested plans that will make his opinions of positive value. 
Further, he is doubtless possessed of ability of some sort, and 
this should be encouraged to show its modest face in the gather- 
ing of the elders. He may even be a regular shark at some- 
thing at which the rest of the staff are mere amateurs. Such 
things have been. 

10. Promotion of Personal Work 

Secretaries are constantly dealing with men about their 



STAFF CONFERENCES 151 

larger religious interests ; one man may greatly help another in 
his winning of a member to Christ and service by cooperative 
effort at the right time and of the right kind. On the other 
hand, he may seriously hinder the man's approach to a decision 
by doing or saying something he would not have said or done 
had he realized the circumstances. Further, do we not feel 
that every man on the staff should be doing real personal work? 
To serve these two ends, different plans have been adopted 
in different Association staffs. The staff of one large city 
Association pledged itself to the goal of one religious interview 
a day. There arises the need of an occasion for the interchange 
of experience in doing personal work and for informing each 
other as to whom one is working with. For this purpose one 
Association set aside half of the Thursday morning confer- 
ence, when each secretary was asked if he had any men he 
wished to report upon, or any with whom he wished help. No 
man was in any way forced to do this personal work, but its 
toning-up effect upon the whole staff was evident. 

11. Meeting Visitors 

The staff conference gives the visiting secretary or other 
visitor and the staff a chance to meet each other, hear the visit- 
or's message, and make opportunity for further conversation. 
The stranger should always be coached as to the part he is 
expected to take in the meeting, and how much time he should 
not exceed. If he has anything worth while, he should be 
given time to present it. Frequently the staff will wish to ask 
questions ; the program of the meeting should be made up with 
this in mind and not diverted to a discussion of which con- 
tractor shall be engaged to repair the roof. That can be at- 
tended to later, but the visitor passes on, especially if he belongs 
to that rapidly moving group who are said by Mr. Logan of 
Detroit to "blow in, blow up, and blow out." 

IV. A Staff Conference Program 

A program that makes provision for these eleven interests 
would shape up something like this : 



152 TRAINING A STAFF 

1. Monday, 9:00 to 10:30 a. m. This Week's Work. 

a. Opening prayer, devotional reading, and inspirational 

talk by the general secretary or any other man who 
does it well. Maximum, ten minutes. 

b. Reports from the staff of recent achievements or events. 

c. The adjustment of difficulties and discussion of imme- 

diate problems apart from program of activities. 

d. This week's work, each day's special engagements. 

e. Interesting information the general secretary wishes to 

give out. 

f. That final word of inspiration that makes each man 

leave feeling, "I surely am glad I'm a Y M C A secre- 
tary, and particularly glad I'm on this staff." 

2. Wednesday, 9:00 to 10:00 a. m. Staff Bible Class. 

Not a lecture. A group study based on preparation. 

3. Thursday, 9:00 to 10:00 a. m. Personal Evangelism and 

Future Plans. 

a. Brief reports from each secretary as to men with whom 

he is dealing. Thirty minutes. 

b. Future plans, those things several weeks, months, or 

years off. Thirty minutes. 

c. Prayer for these men and these objects. 

V. Arrangements as to Time and Place 

1. Staff Conferences Are Held at a Variety of Times 

a. Every week day at 9 a. m. until finished, the Monday con- 
ference being a long one. 

b. Mondays only, 8 :30 to 9 :3c* a. m. 

c. Mondays and Thursdays, 9:00 to 10:00 a. m. 

d. Monday, 8 :oo to 8 :45, all central branch employes. 

8:45 till finished, branch executives. 
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 2:15 till fin- 
ished, central staff. 

e. Tuesday to Friday, 1 1 :oo to 11 130 a. m. 

2. They Vary in Length 

Many are interminable, which the dictionary says means hav- 
ing no limit or end; some are wisely limited to one hour. 

3. The Places Also Vary 

a. The general secretary's office. 



STAFF CONFERENCES 153 

b. The directors' room. 

c. A class-room. 

d. The cafeteria. 

4. The Arrangements Differ 

a. Any old chair in any odd position. 

b. Around a table and in a regular place, but not in order of 
rank. 

c. The general secretary at his desk and in a comfortable 
chair. The rest most any place and not so comfortable. 

d. Note paper and pencils handy, blackboard prepared and 
clean, the 'phone taken care of by the stenographer, good light, 
heat, and ventilation. There are such. 

5. The Size Naturally Varies with the Staff 

Most general secretaries want the whole secretarial staff in 
to conference. Where, on account of size, the group has to be 
broken up, it should be seen to that all the eleven values men- 
tioned above are conserved. On this matter of size, the 
treasurer of a business corporation says in Factory, "A confer- 
ence is too large when a large table or a small room is insuffi- 
cient." The conference then becomes a meeting. 

VI. Strong and Weak Points 
1. Weak Points 

Secretaries in various cities have made these criticisms of 
their own conferences : 

a. Lack of common problems. 

b. Lack of promptness in coming together and beginning. 

c. Part-time men cannot meet at nine o'clock in the morning. 

d. Difficulty of finding a convenient time 

e. Irrelevant discussion. 

f. Sameness. A rut. 

g. Not profitable and. businesslike use of the time, 
h. The room is too small. 

i. Physical environment not conducive to effectual group 
work. 



154 TRAINING A STAFF 

j. The light is poor. 

k. Reports show insufficient preparation. 
1. Too much detail and not enough inspiration, 
m. Men do not come on time, 
n. Not sufficient brotherly consideration, 
o. Wearisome details from other departments. 
p. Lack of a prepared program, 
q. Lack of record of decisions reached, 
r. Too much arguing. Minor quarrels. 
s. Too many stories, 
t. The general secretary dominates. 

Let it be quickly written that not all these weaknesses were 
found in any one Association. Human vitality has its limits. 

2. Strong Points 

Not many felt they had solved the problem of a good staff 
conference. The strong points mentioned are: 

a. Helpful devotional time. 

b. Opportunity for all to report. 

c. Free participation. 

d. Interchange of information. 

e. Friendship and sympathy. 

f. Important Association news available. 

g. Sense of being part of a great movement secured. 

j. Suggestions 

The points presented in sections III and IV are designed to 
reen force these strong points and correct some of the weak 
ones. The mere statement of many of the weak points sug- 
gests the remedy, for they are largely criticisms of lack, and a 
lack seldom hard to supply. A few additional points may be 
helpful. 

a. At the close of the discussion briefly sum up the results 
that have been secured. 

b. Carefully tie up the loose ends of discussion and delegate 
responsibility for definite tasks. 

c. Prepare for the presentation of a subject in the manner 



STAFF CONFERENCES 155 

suggested for teaching a class, and employ the discussion 
method, using the blackboard. 

d. Begin and adjourn promptly, so that the men can plan 
the rest of their morning on the basis of a definite conclusion 
of the meeting. 

e. In a recent book called "The New State," by M. F. Fol- 
lett, an interesting philosophy of group discussion is presented 
in the opening chapters. The idea is developed that the result 
of a group discussion by A, B, C, D, and E should not be the 
plan A brought to the meeting, nor the sum of each man's con- 
tribution, but something that did not exist at all before the 
meeting. Read the chapters and weigh the idea that they 
bring out. 

f. Two of the biggest groups of ideas in the management 
and industrial psychology of our day are those gathered about 
the two phrases so often heard, "creative instincts" and "par- 
ticipation in management." No plan that does not provide for 
each of these will solve the present industrial unrest; no em- 
ployment policy in which they are not expressed will today 
result in a smoothly running organization ; no staff policy that 
does not recognize these two ideas as lying at the very heart of 
staff spirit and enthusiasm will call out the best work and effort 
of the secretaries. 

The whole discussion of "democracy in industry" has 
brought out these two elements as central in the minds of 
employed men. Deep down they spring from the same human 
sources as opposition to slavery and "taxation without repre- 
sentation." As psychic factors in production of any sort, they 
must be enlisted in our cause. 

Therefore, the secretary who is in touch with the spiritual 
movements that control men's minds today will, in his policy 
of staff conferences and in all his staff policies give to the 
youngest and humblest of his associates opportunity for real 
participation in the forming of policies and programs, and will 
strive to create those conditions which release the creative in- 
stincts of his fellow-workers. Any other attitude is not only 
an anachronism, it is blindness and folly. 



156 TRAINING A STAFF 

VII. Annual Conferences 

Two other conferences that form part of the program of 
many Associations cut a large figure in introducing young sec- 
retaries into the Association program and making them ac- 
quainted with its policies. 

i. The Annual Setting-Up Conference 

This is a spring-time event, when the staff spends two or 
three full days just after the close of the fiscal year, sometime 
in May or early June, discussing the details of the work of the 
past year. The whole group goes to some hotel, summer 
resort, or large private residence remote from the city, away 
from the telephone and other interruptions, and examines the 
gains and losses of the fall, winter, and spring work. Plans 
for the coming year are blocked out, and summer activities 
provided for. 

The Seattle Association holds this gathering in August, and 
invites in a number of leading committeemen, many of whom 
attend, adding much to the value of the conference, and get- 
ting a fine insight into the work. Recreation and fellowship 
are provided for as well as discussion, and the toning-up effect 
of the gathering is marked. 

Some Associations refer to this as a "retreat." It is grow- 
ing in favor and is likely to be even more widely used. Its 
most effective technique should be studied and reported upon. 

2. The Annual Directors' and Staff Dinner 

This is a fall event, properly held early in September, and is 
planned to launch the fall and winter program. The directors, 
trustees, committees, chairmen, and staff meet for dinner in 
town and spend the evening listening to the chairmen report 
their finished plans. These are presented in short talks and 
graphic ways, so that much ground is covered in a little time. 
The effective use of a short period is a matter requiring much 
study : the eye and ear must both be appealed to ; the staff and 
chairmen have here ample opportunity for the exercise of 
ingenuity in presenting their work. New members of the staff 



STAFF CONFERENCES 157 

are introduced. The spellbinder of the group takes the closing 
minutes to give the new plans an effective launching. Nine 
o'clock is a good time to quit, and 9 :30 is the limit. 

The meeting is not one in which either action or discussion 
has a place. It is a time for short snappy talks, inspiration, 
and good fellowship. An outside speaker is not needed ; indeed, 
he would be out of place. This is a family affair, and the 
business of the evening is itself the attraction. The plan works, 
and works, "big." 



CHAPTER VIII 

DEPARTMENTAL STUDIES 

Analysis 

I. Assignment of Reports 
II. Proposed Questions, as to 

1. Conditions and needs 

2. Principles and theories 

3. Policies 

4. Program 

5. Ways and means 

6. Success 

7. Improvements 

III. Making the Study 

IV. Submitting the Report 
V. Further Suggestions 

VI. Annual Thesis 

Problem 

What sort of theses or reports is it profitable to have junior 
secretaries prepare? How should such work be directed? 

In studying the methods used by corporations in the training 
of engineering experts and executives, a method was found in 
one of the most thorough of these corporations that can readily 
be adopted by any local Association. It is simple and has great 
value in the training of new men on the staff. Here are some 
suggestions as to its reproduction in the Association. 

I. Assignment of Reports 

Where only one younger secretary is in training, proceed as 
follows. Assign him the task of making a study of the work 
of any one department, for instance, the Boys' Department. 

158 



DEPARTMENTAL STUDIES 159 

Allow him one month in which to make the investigation and 
to prepare his report. If he is assigned the task of investigat- 
ing the Boys' Department beginning January 1st, let him know 
that his report must be prepared and turned in February 1st. 
It is understood that the preparation of this report is only a 
part-time task and that most of the secretary's regular duties 
continue as usual. There will, however, have to be some ad- 
justment of the schedule to make it possible. 

II. Proposed Questions 

To guide the secretary in his investigation, it is suggested 
that seven questions be asked, that his investigation be along 
seven lines, and that his report be prepared in seven corre- 
sponding sections. The questions are : 

1. What are the conditions and facts in modern life that 
make this department necessary? What needs does it seek to 
meet? 

This section should be a detailed analysis with main topics 
and sub-heads. Mere general statements are valueless. 

2. What are the fundamental principles or theories upon 
which this department builds its methods or processes ? 

3. What general policies have been decided upon by the 
department ? 

4. What program of activities is adopted as expressing these 
policies? Show the activities that are designed to meet each 
need listed under "1." Every important activity is devised to 
meet a specific need, proceeds in accordance with some prin- 
ciple, and is the definite expression of some policy. 

5. What ways and means are necessary to enable the depart- 
ment to conduct its activities ? Outline them under the follow- 
ing heads: (a) Organization, or committees; (b) personnel, 
or employed staff; (c) finance, or budget; (d) material equip- 
ment. 

6. To what extent do you consider the department is suc- 
ceeding in meeting the conditions listed under "1"? Plow wise 
are the policies listed under "3" ? Why do you think so ? How 
effective are the methods listed under "4" in carrying out the 



160 TRAINING A STAFF 

policies and meeting the needs? How far are the ways and 
means listed under "5" effective and sufficient? 

7. What improvements would you suggest in the policies, 
methods, and organization of this department? 

III. Making the Study 

To secure the data for his report, the secretary who is mak- 
ing the investigation would proceed thus : 

1. Let it be understood that he is making this investigation 
for his own education, in order that he may get a full under- 
standing of the theory and methods of the department. Guard 
against the idea that the investigation is being made with a 
view to the improvement of the department or in criticism of 
it. While good suggestions will occasionally come from these 
studies, let it be clearly understood that the chief purpose and 
value lies in the training of the younger secretary. Ask the 
older secretaries to give him the largest possible cooperation. 
The younger secretary will then carry out the following 
instructions : 

2. Interview the secretary of the department for material 
under the heads "1," "2" "3," "4," and "5" above. 

3. Attend as many of the classes, meetings, or features of 
the department as possible. 

4. Attend one or more committee meetings of the depart- 
ment. 

5. Talk with the members that use the department. 

6. Read the standard literature on the department, and as 
much related material as there is time for. 

IV. Submitting the Report 

This report is submitted to the general secretary, who will 
study it and then discuss it with the secretary-in-training, cor- 
recting his misconceptions and discussing questions upon which 
there is a difference of opinion. Where there is a secretarial 
class, the whole group might well hear the report and discuss it. 

V. Further Suggestions 

I. Where there are several new men on the staff, two or 



DEPARTMENTAL STUDIES 161 

three such investigations could be under way at the same time. 
They should be carefully coordinated with current class-room 
work and projects. 

2. It will probably not be possible to have more than two or 
three such investigations made by any secretary during the 
busy season. 

3. This question outline of an investigation can be used in 
other ways. The peripatetic class in China uses it as a basis of 
its studies and investigations in visiting city Associations. 
Foreign secretaries traveling in America have found it a con- 
venient guide. It would be helpful on an inspection trip. It 
could be used in preparing a convention or conference paper. 
The same questions reduced to topic form might be a handy 
outline for an annual report or newspaper article. 

VI. Annual Thesis 

The matter of these departmental studies suggests the ques- 
tion of an annual thesis as a feature in the training of fellow- 
ship secretaries and other young men on the staff. The plan 
has been used and successfully. In one case a secretary-in- 
training took as his thesis a study of all the Associations of 
about 1,500 members, the size of the Association in which he 
was working. He chose some twenty items in Association 
statistics and collected the data for each of these items from 
the latest Year Book. The items chosen included the size of 
the city, the exact membership of all the Associations, the value 
of their buildings, the number of men on committees, and so on. 
Averaging these up and studying the result gave him an in- 
teresting line on his own Association. He was a scientifically 
trained man and worked out a number of valuable conclusions. 

On another occasion a young engineering graduate connected 
with a city Association as a fellowship man made a study of 
the methods used by large engineering corporations in the 
training of executives. His fifty page thesis was a gold mine 
for his general secretary. 

The value of getting the younger secretaries started in this 
sort of thing is at once apparent. For an organization of its 



162 TRAINING A STAFF 

size, development, and history the Young Men's Christian 
Association has but a scant literature and has made few con- 
tributions to the bibliography of administration, religious 
education, or other subjects. There is a wealth of data avail- 
able in the daily work of the Association for a wide range of 
truly valuable studies. Our secretaries, however, have become 
motor-minded rather than students, promoters rather than 
thinkers. But the Association has reached a forward stage in 
the matter of promotion and needs to consolidate its gains, and 
make good on its promises of character, education, and health. 
To achieve this result more men will have to turn their atten- 
tion to real study. We have built a big house; it needs to be 
furnished. Better methods must be devised, more significant 
courses of study prepared, relationships better adjusted, our 
own work and its possibilities more thoroughly understood. 
There is need of a generation of secretaries who are creative 
thinkers. The starting of the younger men in real investiga- 
tion and study as suggested here, and even more seriously, will 
be one step toward the providing of the new and needed type. 
Incidentally, the fact that such work is encouraged will add to 
the attractiveness of the secretaryship to men who are well 
worth attracting, and give new visions of opportunity to men 
who want to grow. 



CHAPTER IX 

INSPECTION TRIPS 
Analysis 

I. The Value of Inspection Trips 

i. An Association experience 

2. Corporation practice 

3. Universities use them 

4. Foreign Associations use them 

5. And our own local Associations? 

II. Inspection Trips through the Home Association Building 

III. Trips about the City 

IV. Inspection Trips to Other Cities 

1. Kinds of trips 

a. General investigation 

b. Specific investigation 

2. Preparation for the trip 

a. Decision as to what to study 

b. Itinerary 

3. Processes on the trip 

4. Reporting the trip 

5. Using the results 

6. Cost, frequency, etc. 

7. An appeal 

V. Visits to Other Countries 

1. Americans going abroad 

2. Foreigners visiting America 

VI. Summary 

Problem 

What inspection trips should be included in a secretary's 
training? How may they be given large educational value? 

163 



164 TRAINING A STAFF 

1. The Value of Inspection Trips 
i. An Association Experience 

A local Association received a gift of $50,000 as the initial 
contribution toward a $150,000 building. The directors de- 
cided it would be a good thing to send their secretary on a 
tour of inspection to learn what features other Associations 
were incorporating into their buildings, and how the money for 
their construction was usually raised. 

He traveled 11,500 miles, spent twelve weeks and $500 on 
the trip, and picked up a wealth of ideas as to money-raising 
and building-construction. With no outside help, a record- 
making campaign was pushed through, the town united in a 
big enterprise for the first time in its history, and a $240,000 
building was built and dedicated debt-free. 

That experience convinced that board of the value of in- 
spection trips, so that thereafter (that was in 1909) one or 
two men were given such trips each year. They were usually 
two or three months long, and one of them cost over $700. 
The board found that educating its staff was good business, 
and has since invested hundreds of dollars in the field of its 
successful experiment. 

2. Corporation Practice 

Business corporations have made the same discovery, and 
these inspection trips are now one of the standard training 
processes in common use in the training of men for responsible 
positions. The agency that represents the cooperative effort 
of 130 of the largest American corporations, the National As- 
sociation of Corporation Training, said in its 19 19 report on 
Methods of Instruction : "The obvious importance of the In- 
spection Trip Method has been quickly recognized by the in- 
dustrial world. Very few corporations of any importance are 
without this means of imparting knowledge to their employees. 
Such trips constitute, therefore, not only a method of teaching 
in themselves, but form a necessary adjunct of any method of 
teaching." They are a necessary adjunct of any method of 
teaching because of the importance of having the student see 



INSPECTION TRIPS 165 

in operation the plan, feature, or condition he had read about, 
discussed in class, heard lectured about, or been introduced 
to in any other manner. 

Among the corporations that have made large educational 
use of inspection trips may be mentioned the Western Electric 
Company, American Steel and Wire Company, Consolidated 
Gas Company of Baltimore, and the American Locomotive 
Company. 

Eight years ago the American Steel and Wire Company 
inaugurated a plan of inspection trips splendidly organized to 
secure educational values. It developed into a regular course of 
six and a half weeks for men fairly well along in their training 
and experience. A group of twelve visited the plants main- 
tained by the corporation in three different districts — Cleve- 
land, Pittsburgh, and Worcester. One group followed another 
until scores of men had taken the course. The fine organiza- 
tion of these inspection trips is revealed in the following quota- 
tions from articles by Mr. C. R. Sturdevant, the educational 
director of the trips. The paragraphs are taken from the 1916 
report of the National Association of Corporation Training and 
the June, 1915, issue of their Bulletin : 

"The work is so laid out that each succeeding day covers a 
new topic, and each day's work is handled in much the same 
manner. On Monday forenoon of each week a written ex- 
amination is held, covering the work of the previous week. On 
every other working day, the whole forenoon is largely oc- 
cupied by mill inspection under the direction of competent 
guides and instructors. After the midday lunch, furnished 
each day at the Works' dining room, the superintendent, or 
some expert appointed by him, thoroughly reviews the work 
of the morning, during which the students are encouraged to 
discuss freely all matters involved. 

"Following the discussion the students meet the Director of 
the Training Course in an appointed assembly room for a 
thorough quiz covering the work of the day. This occupies 
two hours. This period, recurring daily, has developed into 
one of the most important and most interesting features of the 
course. It is here that every phase of the subject is developed 
largely by the students themselves and viewed from all possible 
angles. Questions are asked in such manner and of such nature 



166 TRAINING A STAFF 

as to draw the students out, set them thinking, and induce them 
to use their imagination and reasoning powers. It is here, too, 
that scientific principles involved are discussed and explained. 
While due consideration is given the how concerning processes 
and operations, even more is given the why. This excites a 
keen interest in the work, and creates a desire on the part of 
each man to make a good showing among his fellows, hence, an 
added incentive to harder work and closer application. The 
man who thoroughly knows and understands the reasons why 
a certain specific material is used or required in a given set of 
conditions, or who knows why certain operations or processes 
have to be conducted in a certain manner, will possess a much 
broader and more useful working knowledge than he who has 
learned only how certain things are done. The one involves 
knowledge and thinking powers, the other may and usually does 
require only a superficial knowledge. 

"At the close of each day's quiz, a small specially prepared 
booklet covering the work of the following day is given to each 
man, and these are studied during the evening. These booklets, 
thirty-three in number, cover different phases of our business 
and they include all the reading matter of the training course* 
They have been written by men of our own Company, and 
edited by our Educational Committee appointed to look after 
the educational work. Taken collectively, the books read into 
each other and they develop the whole story in a concise and 
consecutive manner. 

"In the preparation of these special articles, and in the de- 
velopment of the course, every effort has been made to secure 
maximum economy in both time and effort on the part of the 
student, since these are his two greatest assets. In the study of 
any particular subject, the student first reads a carefully pre- 
pared article devoted to that particular topic, he next witnesses 
all the processes and operations in the mill, he then discusses 
the subject with an experienced operating man, after which he 
is required to tell the story himself before others, going quite 
fully into descriptions and reasonings, and finally he is given a 
written examination on the subject. It is surprising how much 
knowledge a man can acquire in one day when he concentrates 
his whole attention in the foregoing manner on a single phase 
of the business. 

"The training course teaches the men much concerning their 
own work, and their efficiency is correspondingly increased. 
This constitutes an immediate return well worth the cost. 
Their minds become enlarged and more active, their visions are 



INSPECTION TRIPS 167 

broadened, their imaginations are quickened, and their powers 
of perception, observation, and expression are likewise de- 
veloped. During the course they touch upon many subjects 
that are new and of special interest. Many of the men are 
stimulated and encouraged to follow up these new lines when 
they return home. The men acquire a fuller and much more 
accurate conception of the work the Company is doing, and of 
its general policies and ideals, and they feel under obligation to 
the Company for having offered them such an exceptional 
opportunity to add to their previous knowledge. They become 
more loyal and more ambitious to improve their records and 
to advance." 

j. Universities Use Them 

Trips of this sort are regular features in the training of men 
in engineering colleges and in our own Association Colleges. 
The University of Cincinnati, one of the best engineering col- 
leges in the world, makes extensive use of inspection trips and 
has put them on a thorough educational basis. They are made 
to coordinate with the study of subjects under way in the class- 
rooms. Their plan is illustrated by the following schedule and 
quotation, taken from U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin 
Number 37, 1916: 

Dec. 1st. General foundry methods. 

Dec. 3rd. Description of foundry to be visited. 

Dec. 4th. Inspection Trip No. 2. Foundry, Laidlaw Dunn 
Gordon Co. 

Dec. 8th. Discussion of foundry trip. 

"Inspection trips. Apart from the varied forms of shop 
experience, an opportunity to learn by observation is provided 
by the inspection trips, which are made by all students during 
the school periods. These visits to representative engineering 
industries are carefully planned and graded with reference to 
the student's course and his progress. During the first year the 
trips include only the larger and more general phases of in- 
dustry, and are made under the direction of the department of 
coordination. A typical list of plants visited in the first year 
is as follows: (1) The Cincinnati Water Works (pumping 
and filtration plants) ; (2) the Andrews Steel Co. (rolling 
mills) ; (3) the Jarecki Chemical Co. (sulphuric acid, com- 
mercial fertilizers, and alum) ; (4) the Hopple Street Viaduct 



168 TRAINING A STAFF 

(under construction) ; (5) the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. 
(machine tools) ; (6) the Bullock Electrical Co. (electrical 
machinery). 

"Each trip is preceded by lectures on the type of plant to be 
visited, its layout, and its special engineering features. Wher- 
ever possible the trip is brought into relation with the student's 
regular class work. For example, the visit to the Jarecki 
Chemical Co.'s plant is made in connection with the discussion 
of the manufacture of sulphuric acid in the class in chemistry. 
A report of from five to ten pages, including a sketch, is re- 
quired of each student. All reports are written under the 
joint direction of the department of English and the technical 
department concerned. The inspection trips made by the 
upper-class men differ mainly in that they deal with more 
specific phases of industry, and that they are in charge of the 
several engineering departments." 

In addition to these local visits, trips to typical works of 
various kinds in other cities are a part of every engineer's 
training. 

4. Foreign Associations Use Them 

The National Council of the Associations in China, under 
the direction of Dr. D. W. Lyon, has organized this policy of 
inspection trips as a definite part of the training policy for 
China. The group of secretaries in training taking such a trip 
is called a "peripatetic class," and goes about visiting important 
city Associations under the direction of an experienced secre- 
tary, with definite questions to ask, investigations to make, and 
reports to submit. 

Recently a similar group of six Chinese secretaries made 
just such a trip through America under the direction of Mr. 
Newton Hayes, and three French secretaries, the first of five 
parties to be so trained, are at this writing on a three months' 
tour of American Associations ; other countries are planning 
similar experiences for men of promise. 

5. And Our Own Local Associations? 

Strangely enough, the plan has not been extensively used by 
our own American Associations. To be sure, inspections of 



INSPECTION TRIPS 169 

good buildings are made prior to the erection of each new one, 
and men drop in while going to and from conventions, confer- 
ences, and summer schools. This great tool, however, is not 
being used as it might be. It requires time, money, and fore- 
thought, and these three facts seem to have limited the applica- 
tion of a good plan. Nevertheless, what "big business" proves 
to be "good business" soon finds its way into our policies, and 
in anticipation of a wider application of the idea a study "of 
the whole subject will be timely. Giving the words the broad- 
est possible interpretation, we will study inspection trips as 
trips through our own local buildings, through the city, to other 
cities, and to other countries. 

II. Inspection Trips through the Home Association 
Building 

A senior secretary should take the new men on his staff on 
inspection trips through their own building for the following 
purposes : 

1. To learn the general layout of the plant, its theory, and 
the reasons underlying the size, location, and arrangement of 
the different rooms and features. 

2. To observe the program of the Association in actual 
operation as a basis for discussion of Association theory and 
practice, and to become familiar with all the activities as they 
are regularly conducted. This would include gym, educational 
and Bible classes, meetings, and socials of all kinds. 

3. To get points on building construction and upkeep. 

4. To learn how to inspect the plant as to cleanliness, sanita- 
tion, order, and repairs, cultivating a nose and an eye for dirt, 
and studying the whole question of janitorial efficiency. It is 
well to go over the whole building room by room and together 
to study the condition and needs of each. 

5. To become acquainted with the safety appliances, fire 
exits, hoses, and extinguishers. 

6. To learn how to show the building to visitors. 

No great amount of preparation need be made for these 
trips, nor need they be planned very far in advance. 



i;o TRAINING A STAFF 

III. Trips about the City 

i. To learn the geography of the city and the location of 
points of interest, important buildings, offices, institutions, and 
commercial and industrial enterprises. Without a knowledge 
of these things, the young secretary is not only unable to direct 
inquirers at the building properly, but he is in no wise qualified 
to take an intelligent part in planning the work of the Associa- 
tion in its relation to local destructive and constructive forces, 
or in executing the plans others have devised and set up. 

2. To study important institutions, their theory and practice. 
These trips would include visits to social settlements, play- 
grounds, the local courts, and other agencies having a bearing 
upon the problems of the modern city. Such visits should be 
annual events. A full list of places to be visited should be 
prepared at the beginning of the year, and the visits definitely 
scheduled. Some time before each trip the men who are going 
should be called together, told their destination and the purpose 
of the visit, given a description of what they will see, advised as 
to what to observe most particularly, and informed that a re- 
port will be expected after the visit. The group might work 
out a list of questions they wish to have answered during and 
by the visit. Preliminary and supplementary reading on the 
subject, such as social settlements, juvenile courts, etc., might 
be assigned. Preparatory visits might be made during a man's 
first year, and the more serious studies made the second year, 
in coordination with the course on Problems of the Modern 
City. 

A quotation from page 533 of The Survey for February 7, 
1920, is illustrative here: 

"The most important bit of observation work that we did 
was on our trip to Salem, sixty miles away, where the state 
institutions are located. Before going we had studied and de- 
bated many questions involving the problems of these institu- 
tions. Immediately upon our arrival at each institution the 
superintendent would give us a short, pointed lecture upon the 
problems confronting him, and would tell us what to look for. 
Then he would usher us through. At the end of our inspection 
the superintendent would talk to us again, answering questions 



INSPECTION TRIPS 171 

and following up his first lecture. It seemed to me at the time 
that if every high school graduate in our state could see and 
hear what we saw and heard on that trip through the institu- 
tions for the blind, the insane, adult delinquents, juvenile de- 
linquents, the feebleminded and the tubercular, a widespread 
reform in our social conditions could be brought about within a 
few years." 

3. For those whose tastes can be directed that way, visits to 
art galleries, museums, libraries, and important architectural 
structures are very much worth while and contribute to the 
making of a good citizen as well as a cultivated man. Have 
Association secretaries paid sufficient attention to this side of 
life? 

4. Where the Association has work going on outside the 
building — street meetings, shop meetings, extension work, and 
other branches — these should be visited, not casually, but as a 
serious part of instruction in the secretaryship. 

IV. Inspection Trips to Other Cities 
1. Kinds of Trips 

a. General investigation 

These trips will be of two kinds: First, trips of a general 
nature, to give the secretary a broad knowledge of the whole 
Association Movement, an insight into many of its processes, 
and an acquaintance with its leaders. Such trips are profitable 
to both younger and older men in the work. They are not of 
very much educational value if taken too early in a man's ex- 
perience. If taken before he goes into the work, they are of 
little value indeed. He does not know what questions to ask, 
what to look for, what things to investigate. After a year or 
two's experience, however, the young secretary has a lot of 
pigeon-holes into which he is gathering data and material, ques- 
tions he wants to ask, lines of work he wants to investigate, 
things he wants to know how to do, pegs upon which to hang 
what he learns. The broad general trip is then timely. 

b. Specific investigation 

The second sort of trip is the one taken to investigate a 



i 7 2 TRAINING A STAFF 

particular subject, such as building arrangement and construc- 
tion, educational work, business management, or religious in- 
terviews. Such trips are in the line of the work of older 
secretaries, or men who have had an initial general experience 
and are about to specialize or have recently begun to do so. 

2. Preparation for the Trip 

a. Decision as to what to study 

When the opportunity for such a trip presents itself to a 
secretary, his first decision should be as to the subjects he 
wants to investigate. Guidance from his seniors will be of help. 
He will prepare a list of things he wants to know about, de- 
partments with whose methods he wishes to become better ac- 
quainted, problems upon which he wants light, movements with 
which he wishes to become familiar, features he desires to 
observe, men he would like to meet. 

It is helpful to put each of these subjects of investigation into 
question form and write it at the head of a page in a loose-leaf 
note-book of pocket size. As he moves from place to place, he 
will gather information in answer to his questions, and when 
he arrives home will have it all carefully classified under sub- 
ject heads. Such questions as "By what methods are you 
securing members ?" "How are you promoting religious inter- 
views ?" would each head a page, and what different secretaries 
had to say would be all in one place. 

A list of "things to do" in each city will also be prepared and 
checked off as accomplished. 

The broadest cultural value of the trip will be furthered by 
careful reading of tourist guides and encyclopedia articles upon 
the places to be visited or passed en route. Brief notes under 
each city will bring these things to mind at the proper time. 

Where the trip is a group trip, group discussions should be 
held in preparation for the visits. 

b. Itinerary 

Where to go to get the information or education desired is 
the next thing to be decided. In this it may be necessary to 
supplement the assistance of the local general secretary by data 



INSPECTION TRIPS 173 

secured from the State or International headquarters of the 
Association Movement. An International secretary.of the In- 
dustrial Department would give advice as to which cities to 
visit to see cotton mill Associations, for instance. 

The visitor must then find out if his proposed visit would be 
timely, whether the Association he wishes to visit is willing to 
give him a little attention and help. It may be necessary to 
omit one city and choose another because of some local con- 
ditions that make it impossible to give the help wanted at the 
time designated. 

The host must be put to no expense or bother in entertaining. 
The visitor will put up at a hotel or stay in the dormitory as a 
paying guest, and be a financial burden to no one. Experience 
shows the value of having room reservations made at least four 
or five days in advance, based on exact statement as to price of 
room desired and the probable time of arrival. 

The time of year at which the trip is to be made is an im- 
portant consideration. Men are on vacation or at summer 
school from June to September, and September and October 
are very busy months. Perhaps on the whole the middle of 
November to the first of May is the best time if the best results 
are to be secured. However, summer trips are of great value, 
as leisurely attention is then usually to be secured. 

3. Processes on the Trip 

The general plan of the American Steel and Wire Company 
is excellent. Note its elements. 

a. Concentrated attention on a certain subject or department 
for each day. 

b. Preparatory reading and discussion, resulting in a list of 
questions or things to observe. 

c. Observation and interviews for a period of hours under 
supervision or with an instructor, taking notes and making dia- 
grams and sketches. 

d. Review of the day's work and results. 

e. A quiz by the leader of the party, with more attention 
given to why than how. 



174 TRAINING A STAFF 

f. A written examination or report. 

g. A culling of suggestions for actual application, made at 
the close of each day and at the end of the trip, a "things to do" 
list. It is highly important that the secretary be constantly 
alert for situations resembling those at home, conditions paral- 
leling those in his own Association, arrangements, features, and 
plans he can use upon his return. Let him constantly ask him- 
self, "What application has this to my own work or situation?" 
The other great question, to be asked both of himself and 
others, is "Why?" 

The suggested method and questions developed in Chapter 
VIII, "Departmental Studies," might easily be adapted to this 
purpose, and were so used in the fall of 1919 when H. A. Wil- 
bur took a group of young Chinese secretaries on a study tour 
to several of the large Associations of China. 

Frequently the traveler can be of some service to the As- 
sociation visited, giving talks at religious meetings, speaking at 
shop meetings, conferring with committees, or giving educa- 
tional talks on some subject upon which he is prepared. 
Lantern slides, though troublesome to carry, come in handy. 
Talks outlined in advance are often good things to fall back 
upon in emergency calls. 

4. Reporting the Trip 

Upon his return, or the return of the group, the widest educa- 
tional use should be made of the material gathered. A variety 
of committees will be glad to hear how their work is being done 
in other places. The directors will want an interesting state- 
ment of things seen and learned. Newspaper articles or inter- 
views should be prepared, different ones for different papers. 
The staff will want to spend some hours hearing the secretary 
report and discussing his findings. The gist of the whole in- 
vestigation should be typewritten and saved for reference. 

5. Using the Results 

Unless something happens as a result of it, the trip was a 
failure from the point of view of the Association. The "things 



INSPECTION TRIPS 175 

to do" should be submitted to the proper committees and, so 
far as they are approved, done. Improved processes and 
obvious forward steps convince the Association officers of the 
worth-whileness of their investment and pave the way for 
similar trips for other men until they become an established and 
scheduled feature of the training plan of the Association. Re- 
turns commensurate with the investment must be forthcoming. 

6. Cost and Frequency 

The Association for which the secretary works should pay 
the full cost of the trip, or give a stated generous amount and 
allow the secretary to add to it as he chooses, keeping within a 
limit of time. Naturally the Association will, under such cir- 
cumstances, expect the man to devote himself seriously to study 
on the trip and not make it a vacation or a junket. 

The frequency with which such trips should be taken is not 
easily determined. Short trips may be made at irregular inter- 
vals, but the more extended journeys should come at least at 
the end of a two-year period of training in a local Association, 
or near the first of the third year. In most cases the secretary 
will have worked on a small salary and has in a real sense 
earned this opportunity. From another angle, the Association 
will profit by the trip and can afford it as good policy. At all 
events, such a trip should come early in the experience of every 
man who plans to make the Association secretaryship his voca- 
tion for a period of years, occurring, say, within the first three 
years. 

Having taken such a trip at the expense of an Association, a 
secretary is under heavy moral obligation not to use his travel- 
ing as an opportunity for hunting a better job. It should be 
clearly understood that the trip is to be followed by at least a 
year of service, and the secretary should feel himself bound 
not to listen to the tempter who would offer him a position else- 
where. Let him make this a matter of honor as well as of 
financial obligation. 

How much time should a man take for such a trip? One 
Association gives two and sometimes three months on full 



176 TRAINING A STAFF 

salary. Where distances are not great, very much can be done 
in four weeks. 

The amount of money to be allowed in addition to full salary 
will naturally vary widely. One Association allows from $100 
to $500, varying with the different men and the trip they are 
to take. The Association will reap in proportion as it sows. 

j. An Appeal 

Certain Associations will be visited more frequently than 
others. These can save themselves from undue interference 
with their work by training different members of the staff to 
handle those visitors, by having certain information and data 
readily available in printed or typewritten form, and by regu- 
lating the number of such visitors they will receive for training. 
However, the strong and successful Associations will in most 
cases feel this is a contribution they are glad to make to the 
whole Brotherhood and to the cause of the Kingdom, and will 
put up with some inconvenience for the cause, "for the good 
of the order," as the strong bearing the burdens of the weak 
and as hastening the day when the Brotherhood will in truth 
have a trained secretarial leadership. 

V. Visits to Other Countries 
1. Americans Going Abroad 

In recent years, especially since Mr. L. W. Messer of Chicago 
made his tour of the world in 1913-14, leading American and 
Canadian secretaries have visited the Associations of the 
Orient. These foreign Associations have been greatly helped 
by visits from such men as Mr. Messer, Mr. C. S. Bishop of 
Kansas City, Mr. G. A. Warburton of Toronto, and Dr. F. H. 
Burt of Chicago Association College. It is also true that the 
trips were of large educational value to these North American 
secretaries. Such trips are in the nature of graduate work in 
Association polity and method, and should be taken more fre- 
quently by our leading secretaries. No secretary's training is 
fully rounded while a visit to the foreign Associations is a thing 
of the future. The resulting broadening of vision, knowledge, 



INSPECTION TRIPS 177 

and prestige makes it a positive value to the local Association as 
well as a fitting reward for ten, fifteen, or twenty years of faith- 
ful local service. 

Where such journeys to the Orient or Europe are to be taken, 
matters in addition to Association questions must be attended 
to in preparation. The season of the year during which certain 
foreign cities and countries are visited has a vital bearing upon 
the health of the visitor and the value of the visit. The matter 
of clothing must be given careful consideration. To be in 
Japan or China in winter without woolen underwear is a dis- 
comfort to be avoided. Steamship schedules must be con- 
sulted and bookings for accommodations placed well in ad- 
vance. Books bearing on the countries en route should be 
secured, read, marked, and taken along. Little hints about how 
to travel abroad need to be gathered. The foreign city must be 
advised of the proposed coming, so as to make provision both 
for the use and for the accommodation of the traveler. The 
Overseas Division of the International Committee is always 
glad to assist and advise in these matters, and to cooperate in 
helping all concerned get the most out of the trip. 

2. Foreigners Visiting America 

It will increasingly be the policy of the Associations in Asia, 
Europe, and Latin America to send single secretaries and small 
groups on educational tours through America. Association 
men in this country can render a large service to the difficult 
work abroad by opening their Associations to these men and 
giving their stay here the largest educational content. While 
not easily arranged, it is highly desirable that the foreign dele- 
gates get a real insight into the work of local Associations and 
some actual participation in their activities. Their process of 
investigation will closely resemble that outlined in this chapter, 
with the additional need of getting an insight into American 
life, customs, and institutions, and the handicap of a strange or 
little-known language. The material in Chapter VIII will 
suggest methods to be used by the visitors in making their 
investigations. 



178 TRAINING A STAFF 

VI. Summary 

Inspection trips are an important feature in the preparation 
of strong men for executive leadership and high-grade profes- 
sional service. This fact is recognized by great corporations 
and professional colleges, and is gaining recognition in the 
Young Men's Christian Association. 

Such trips are of three kinds: through the local plant, to 
local institutions, and to other cities. They should be regularly 
scheduled, faithfully prepared for, systematically conducted, 
carefully reported, and their findings used. Costs are borne by 
the local Association, and a liberal policy brings commensurate 
results. 



CHAPTER X 

SPECIAL HELP FROM LOCAL EXPERTS 

Analysis 
I. The Plan 

1. The need of varied knowledge 

2. How to get this instruction 

II. Suggested Topics for Presentation 

III. Getting the Most Out of the Hour 

IV. Outside Help 

Problem 

How can the Association avail itself of local talent in sup- 
plying specialised instruction needed along certain lines? 

I. The Plan 

i. The Need of Varied Knowledge 

The Association secretaryship is a composite vocation. It 
not only has a technique of its own, but it draws important 
elements from the various kinds of skill that make up other 
callings. The secretary has contact with life at many points. 
He must respond helpfully to a variety of calls and possess 
knowledge of many sorts. There is scarcely a week in which 
he is not salesman, advertiser, promoter, educator, and adviser 
on social or civic problems, as well as religious leader and 
Association expert. 

How is the young secretary to be inducted into the mysteries 
of all these functions? Much of his acquisition along these 
lines must be self-secured. We can, however, get him a good 
introduction into a number of them by calling upon local men 
engaged in these vocations. It is a poor city indeed that cannot 
supply a first-class representative of almost every sort of sup- 

179 



180 TRAINING A STAFF 

plementary instruction the Association staff needs. He may 
not be a teacher, but he has the skill of his trade, and we can 
devise plans to supplement his pedagogical deficiencies. 

2. How to Get This Instruction 

Have these local expert advertisers, salesmen, educators, and 
so on meet the staff for one or two periods of instruction in 
their specialty. Time for these special classes may be arranged 
at hours mutually agreed upon by the staff. The Thursday 
morning conference may be omitted once in a while, so as to 
use that period for this purpose, or one of the secretarial class 
hours could be so used. This, however, breaks into other im- 
portant work and should be only a last resort. A far better 
method than any of these is to plan a regular course of this 
supplementary instruction, and meet once or twice a month at 
a scheduled time, the second and fourth Tuesday, from two to 
three p. m., for instance. 

II. Suggested Topics for Presentation 

i. Effective methods of publicity. By an advertising expert. 

2. Preparing copy for a display ad. Same man, or the set- 
up man from a good newspaper. 

3. How to promote an enterprise. Use a well-known local 
promoter of either financial or entertainment functions, such as 
fairs, carnivals, and social events. 

4. Modern office methods. By a good office man or the head 
of an office supply house. 

5. Proved efficiency methods. By some one with a reputa- 
tion along this line. 

6. Good and bad checks. By a banker, who will advise the 
staff how to draw and examine checks. 

7. What social settlements do. By a settlement worker. 

8. What the charity organization society does. By its super- 
intendent or a paid worker. 

9. Some advanced methods in religious education. By the 
director of religious education in a local church. 



HELPS FROM LOCAL EXPERTS 181 

10. How to write newspaper stories. By the city editor, who 
will tell you the kind of copy his paper wants, showing samples 
of good articles. 

ii. Some fundamentals in selling. By a good salesman. 

12. The local playground situation. By the playground 
director or some other expert outside the Association. 

13. The early days of this Association. By an old-timer. 

14. Prominent local families, their interests and achieve- 
ments. By a well-informed resident. 

15. What a business man expects of an Association secre- 
tary. By one of your directors. 

16. Labor unions. By a local labor leader. 

17. Social movements of the day. By one in sympathy with 
them or unprejudiced in the matter. 

18. The public school situation. By a member of the Board 
of Education. 

19. Municipal administration. By the mayor. 

20. A modern police department. By the chief of police or 
police commissioner. 

21. What is expected of a good clerk. By the manager of 
the best local hotel. 

22. How to meet the public. By a sales manager, hotel man, 
or store manager. 

23. Special needs develop from time to time, for which a 
local specialist can usually be found. 

24. A prominent local man has just been to some important 
gathering, a report of which would help the staff. Call him in. 
Or he may have recently visited some foreign country in which 
the staff is interested, such as China, Russia, or Japan. 

III. Getting the Most Out of the Hour 

1. Meet in a thoroughly comfortable and attractive place. 

2. Begin exactly on time with the whole group there, giving 
a demonstration of promptness and efficiency. 

3. Coach your speaker carefully as to what you wish him 
to do, the ground you wish covered, the sort of talk you want 
him to give. Even sit down with him and together work out 



1 82 TRAINING A STAFF 

the points he is to make. He will appreciate your cooperation. 
He is not a mind-reader. 

4. Use half of the hour for his presentation and half of it 
for questions and discussion. 

5. Sometimes plan the hour as a group interview. The staff 
works up a list of questions it wants to ask, and the visitor 
keeps to these rails. He may have been given the questions in 
advance. Where the staff knows what it wants, where it needs 
help, this is a fine method. 

6. Set the speech or discussion up carefully, or it will result 
in disappointment. 

7. Correlate these periods, if convenient, with courses you 
are studying or work you are doing. 

8. Relate minor projects to the period if possible. If the 
men are to learn how to draw checks, have them draw them 
right there, and let the banker criticize their work. When the 
city editor comes up, have some samples of your own men's 
work for him to pass judgment upon. 

9. Have demonstrations where possible. Have something 
made in the meeting, brought to and operated before the 
group, or shown as a sample. Let the eye aid the ear in the 
educational process, and the hand take part wherever it is 
possible. 

IV. Outside Help 

The machinery of this process will sometimes be used with 
men from other places. They will be men from other Associa- 
tions who have been developing a special phase or feature of 
work, and are invited in to explain their new development to 
the staff and to the directors or committeemen. Or another 
local general secretary, a State or International secretary may 
be called in to discuss tendencies and problems in the Associa- 
tion Movement, to give special help on some local difficulty, or 
to inspire the staff with a new vision and outlook. 



CHAPTER XI 

RELATIONS TO CITY INSTITUTIONS 

Analysis 

I. Important Institutions 

1. Church 

2. Sunday school 

3. Social settlements 

4. Boy Scouts 

5. Advertising club 

6. Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs 

7. Commercial Club 

8. University Club 

9. City Club 

10. Discussion clubs 

11. Athletic clubs 

12. National Guard 

13. State clubs 

14. Political clubs 

15. Cosmopolitan Club 

16. Fraternal organizations 

II. Training Values 

III. Arrangements 

1. Schedule 

2. Money 

3. Distribution 

4. Generosity 

5. Invitations 

6. Counsel 

7. Report 

IV. Summary 

Problem 

To what institutions should young secretaries be related as 
part of their training f What are the training values growing 
out of these relationships f 

183 



184 TRAINING A STAFF 

I. Important Institutions 

The general secretaryship is a vocation of many and complex 
relationships. Consequently, the training of the young secre- 
tary should from the very beginning include definite experi- 
ence with those institutions which ordinarily come within the 
scope of a secretary's normal work. Relation to these institu- 
tions is not based entirely on the fact that a man is a secretary 
of the Association. They grow out of the fact that, in addition 
to being a secretary of the Association, he is a Christian, a 
church member, a citizen, a business man, and a social unit. The 
institutions to which he will have relations because of this com- 
plexity in his life are not all listed below ; it may even be that 
important ones are omitted. Generally speaking, however, a 
secretary in the normal course of his experience should be 
actively participating in the work of a number of the agencies 
here considered. 

i. Church 

The young secretary should within a few weeks of his arrival 
in the city connect himself with the church that represents his 
denominational choice. If this is not done, he is likely to be- 
come a church gadabout, a sermon-taster, or even to find the 
very sense of his connection with the church weakening. It is 
quite likely that he should visit a number of the churches and 
seek to become acquainted with the pastors and young people 
of different denominations and in different parts of the city. 
But this visiting might better be done in the evening. The 
morning hours should be definitely dedicated to faithful attend- 
ance upon the services of his home church and work in con- 
nection with its activities. His work with the church would 
express itself in such forms as ushering, singing in the choir, 
helping in financial campaigns, and, in the case of men some- 
what older, some such official connection as elder, steward, or 
deacon. It not only helps the man himself but materially helps 
the Association, when this permanent and helpful relationship 
to a local church is a generally understood matter. It em- 
phasizes the Association's status as a church agency. 



RELATIONS TO CITY INSTITUTIONS 185 

The training values are obvious, for the young secretary 
learns a great deal about the nature and function of the church, 
its methods and responsibilities, and frequently gets valuable 
experience from the handling of the church's affairs, a real 
foundation for his future duties as general secretary. 

2. Sunday School 

The Association has an important function in relation to 
religious education. The Sunday school is an agency in which 
the secretary can secure vital experience with the processes of 
religious education. The Sunday school affords him an oppor- 
tunity of studying the religious nature and needs of boys and 
young men, and a chance to devise and experiment with proc- 
esses meeting these spiritual needs. He learns the content of the 
courses of study offered by the Sunday schools and thus be- 
comes familiar with some of the chief materials of religious 
education. Surely a man is not qualified for leadership in meet- 
ing the religious needs of men and boys if he is not familiar 
with the work that is being done in the Sunday schools, the 
courses they follow, the methods they use, and the degree of 
their success. The wise young secretary will, therefore, not only 
seek the opportunity to attend a good Bible class and serve as a 
"booster" thereof, but will eventually undertake to lead classes 
himself and gain experience as a teacher and an officer. He 
also has opportunity for securing good experience as a song- 
leader if he has any talent along that line, though he would, of 
course, not use the rather informal methods of the army camp. 

J. Social Settlements 

The needs of the under-privileged members of society and 
the methods used by the social settlements in meeting these 
needs are matters with which the secretary-in-training should 
secure experience. Faithful work in a settlement in some of 
his off-time — leading a club, or teaching a class, or helping in 
minor ways — will give him an insight into the functions and 
processes of the social service agencies of his city and incident- 



186 TRAINING A STAFF 

ally demonstrate the sympathy of the Association with local 
social service and welfare movements. 

4. Boy Scouts 

The Boy Scout Movement is one of the greatest agencies 
ever devised for the culture of manly qualities in boys. While 
it lacks religious emphasis in many instances, its aims and 
methods are well worth knowing. Not only are the processes 
of a great movement to be learned by service as a Scoutmaster 
or as an assistant, but in addition knowledge of boy life and 
tendencies is to be gained from this experience. 

5. Advertising Club 

This club usually includes many of the livest young men in the 
city. Membership in the club gives the young secretary valu- 
able personal contacts with a group of progressive men and 
furnishes many suggestions concerning methods of promotion 
and the conduct of meetings. 

6. Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs 

The nature of the training in connection with these is very 
similar to that secured in the Ad Club. Both connections are 
not necessary on the part of the same man, but each young 
secretary should have a chance to belong either to the Ad Club, 
the Rotary Club, or the Kiwanis Club. 

7. Commercial Club 

As a rule, membership in this organization would be an op- 
portunity available only to older men. From the point of view 
of the Association, however, one of its staff should be con- 
nected with this institution. It is a training opportunity for 
a departmental head or general secretary rather than for a 
beginner. 

8. University Club 

College men on the staff will secure valuable social experi- 
ence and helpful contact with growing men through member- 



RELATIONS TO CITY INSTITUTIONS 187 

ship in this institution. They will not use their membership as 
a means of promoting the Association, however, but will seek 
in the club the intellectual stimulus of meeting with men of 
affairs and the general educational value of taking part in its 
activities. 

p. City Club 

Boston and other cities furnish in their city clubs wonderful 
opportunities for young men to hear and meet leaders in all 
sorts of enterprises and in productive thinking. As a training 
feature in a man's experience they are invaluable. 

10. Discussion Clubs 

In many cities there are to be found groups of thoughtful 
men who like to come together for the discussion of science, of 
public questions, and of special lines of research. Clubs of this 
sort bearing such names as Public Question Club, Outlook 
Club, Social Science Club, and Scolia Club, afford oppor- 
tunities which should be seized when they are available. 

11. Athletic Clubs 

Golf, tramping, swimming, and athletic clubs of other sorts 
furnish training in a different realm and relate a man to the 
outdoor physical activities of his city. 

12. National Guard 

Experience with this agency as a means of contacts and of 
training has not been uniformly successful. In some cases, 
however, secretaries have found it genuinely beneficial to be 
members of the National Guard. 

13. State Clubs 

Not infrequently worth-while experience is secured through 
membership in clubs composed of people from the same state, 
such as the Ohio Club, or "Native Sons." 



188 TRAINING A STAFF 

14. Political Clubs 

The secretary is not only a Christian leader; he is a citizen, 
and much of his citizenship has to find its expression through 
connection with the political party. It is not necessary that 
the young secretary should make speeches on the street corner, 
and it is not desirable that he should become a ward-heeler. 
But quite apart from stump-speaking and personal canvassing, 
there are experiences to be secured in connection with political 
clubs that are worth while. 

15. Cosmopolitan Club 

One of the finest training experiences that a young man can 
secure is the contact with men of other races. This can fre- 
quently be secured by membership in a cosmopolitan club com- 
posed of the nationals of many nations living in the city. 

16. Fraternal Organizations 

The important place that these occupy in the lives of many 
men makes it desirable that at least some members of the local 
staff be in touch with them and understand their workings. 

II. Training Values 

The particular kinds of training that a young man can secure 
through connection with these various city institutions need 
only to be mentioned to be recognized. Among the most im- 
portant are the following: 

1. Knowledge of affairs, of what is going on in the world 
and in the city, and how the work of the world is done. 

2. Acquaintance with leaders, the opportunity of studying 
their personalities and methods of work as well as of gaining 
inspiration from their ideas and ideals. 

3. Business and promotion methods, and ways of doing many 
kinds of things. 

4. Contact with growing men. 

5. Experience in the normal processes and duties of citizen- 
ship. 



RELATIONS TO CITY INSTITUTIONS 189 

6. Identification with real life. It is easy for a secretary, 
because of his being in a religious calling, to feel a sense of de- 
tachment from affairs and of separation from other men. Par- 
ticipation in the club and institutional life of a city serves as 
a check on this tendency to detachment. 

7. A chance to study and practice the art of leadership, of 
getting measures before men, securing their adoption, and 
carrying them to completion. 

8. Opportunity to plan work and work plans. 

9. A chance to measure one's self with other men and thereby 
realize both personal deficiencies and efficiencies. 

10. Experience in creating and managing or participating in 
city- wide movements of a civic, social, political, religious, or 
educational nature. 

11. The seeing of other sides of life than that of prosperous 
and successful men, afforded by active connection with settle- 
ments and other social welfare agencies. 

12. Experience in teaching, especially in Sunday school, 
settlements, and the Scout Movement. 

III. Arrangements 

In order to make it possible for every member of the staff 
to secure experience with a sufficient number of these organiza- 
tions to make him familiar with all the relationships involved 
in the secretaryship of the Association, it will be necessary for 
the staff and directors to make careful arrangements whereby 
such broad participation can be made possible. The following 
elements will be considered : 

1. Schedule 

The man working on a schedule of more than forty-eight 
hours a week is not likely to have much energy left for agencies 
other than the one that pays his salary, and this is very unfor- 
tunate. Schedules, therefore, will be considered from two 
angles. First, to see that the demands of the Association upon 
the man's time are reasonable; and second, to see that the 
claims of outside agencies upon his time are equally wisely 
restrained. 



190 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. Money 

Many of the young secretaries will not be able to pay the 
dues involved in belonging to these organizations. It is cus- 
tomary in some Associations to pay secretaries' membership 
fees in such organizations as the Ad Club and the University 
Club, on the ground that both the training value of membership 
and the contacts with the men of the city justify the expendi- 
ture. This membership in a number of organizations might be 
secured in some instances for other members of the staff by 
the general secretary's forgoing some of the club connections 
which are paid for by the Association and transferring them 
to the junior members. It is better to have a number of men 
in different organizations than to have one man in all of them. 

3. Distribution 

The younger secretaries should be distributed among 
the different agencies of the city. In order to give each 
man experience with a variety of organizations, these connec- 
tions might rotate or be interchanged in the middle or at the 
end of the year, according as it is convenient for the man and 
the organization. 

4. Generosity 

It will be a very easy matter for a general secretary to be- 
come jealous of the growing influence', civic standing, and gen- 
eral popularity of other members of his staff. The man of 
broad, kind, and true Christian spirit, however, will rejoice that 
these men are increasing, even though he may think that in 
some respects he is decreasing. In the long run, the general 
secretary who takes a broad and generous view of things and 
finds happiness in the growing strength and influence of other 
members of his staff will find himself most happily situated in 
his own self-respect, in the affection of his men, and in the 
esteem of his fellow-citizens. 

5. Invitations 

While it will be quite proper for the young secretary to take 
the initiative in joining many of these organizations, there are 
others in which the initiative had better come from someone 
else, or which are joined only upon invitation. The tactful work 



RELATIONS TO CITY INSTITUTIONS 191 

of the general secretary can ease the situation by seeing that 
the proper invitations are extended to the members of his staff 
to become affiliated with such clubs and organizations as it is 
desirable for them to join. 

6. Counsel 

The younger men and the general secretary will frequently 
counsel together concerning the amount of work they should 
do outside the Association and the nature of their activities ; 
the younger men will also seek the general secretary's aid and 
advice in connection with duties they have assumed and plans 
they are forming. 

7. Report 

The secretaries-in-training should from time to time report 
to the general secretary the progress they are making, the 
ground they are gaining, and the difficulties they are encounter- 
ing. 

IV. Summary 

The training values to be secured from connection with the 
various clubs, institutions, and organizations of a city are so 
closely related to a man's task as a secretary that the oppor- 
tunity for these experiences should be provided for every 
younger man on the staff and continued through his connection 
with the Association. These contacts should be permanent in 
their connection with the church and Sunday school, and varied 
as regards many of the institutions that make up civic life. 
The general secretary should take the initiative in seeing that 
these connections are formed and in getting out of them the 
largest possible value. 



CHAPTER XII 

UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 

Analysis 

I. The Case for Graduate Study 

1. A scientific basis required 

2. Light on problems desired 

3. More scholars needed 

4. The appeal of an intellectual calling 

5. Research gives standing 

6. Study and leadership 

7. Study produces mental alertness 

8. Such study is being done 

II. Plans at Present in Operation 

1. Montreal 

2. New Haven 

3. Columbus 

4. New York City 

5. Philadelphia 

6. International Committee 

7. Summer schools 

III. Possible Arrangements 

1. Work for A.M. degree 

2. Special work 

3. Sabbatical year 

4. University summer school 

5. Release after two years 

6. Thesis work 

7. Teaching 

8. Possible cities 

IV. The Association Colleges 
V. Summary 

Problem 

What arrangements can be made whereby our secretaries 
may take courses in near-by colleges and universities? 

192 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 193 

Thirty-four large American and Canadian City Associations 
are located within one hour's ride of important universities or 
first-class colleges. The resources of these institutions could 
easily be related to our Associations and used in the training of 
secretaries for more thorough work. Men who have had col- 
lege training should be encouraged to do graduate study related 
to their tasks, and to those who have not received the bachelor's 
degree this door to wider intellectual preparation should be 
thus opened. 

I. The Case for Graduate Study 

1. A Scientific Basis Required 

The Associations, present and future, require a more 
scientific basis. When an institution is small, its processes 
may go quietly along without much thought as to whether it is 
on the right track or not; not many men are affected by its 
activities, and when the net result is some good, criticism that 
its results are not all that could be desired do not arise. The 
Association, however, has become so large, has attracted so 
much public attention, has been given such large funds, reaches 
so many thousands of men and boys, and promises so much for 
the future that its errors and inefficiencies become matters of 
public concern. Its processes must be examined to see if they 
are on a solid foundation, its policies scrutinized to discover 
whether or not they square with the best thought available ; its 
plans, courses, and methods must be elevated from the stage of 
haphazard and hit-or-miss to scientific procedure and assured 
achievement. To attain these ends, the employed officers of 
the present and future must be men trained in the scientific 
method and possessed of the results of specialized investiga- 
tion. To go ahead without this expert counsel within our ranks 
is to court inefficiency and failure, not to say contempt and 
ridicule. 

2. Light on Problems Desired 

The Association needs more light on the problems in the 
following and related fields: religious education, vocational 



194 TRAINING A STAFF 

education, industrial relations, Americanization, psychology, 
business administration, statistics, biblical pedagogy, the Bible, 
missionary theory and practice, physical education, recreation, 
sex hygiene, elementary and secondary school method, adoles- 
cence, labor problems, economics, charities and correction, and 
the social problems of the modern city and the rural com- 
munity. The way to this needed light lies through graduate 
study, field work, and experimentation conducted under the 
supervision of real experts. 

5. More Scholars Needed 

The Brotherhood needs more scholars, says John R. Mott. 
Too few secretaries are studying. We have too few students 
who think, constructive and productive thinkers, men who 
know, who are authorities. Not enough men are contributing 
new ideas, enlarging the method and scope of the Association, 
devising new tools with which to work, enriching the vocation. 

4. The Appeal of an Intellectual Calling 

The opportunity for graduate study and encouragement of it 
would attract to the ranks of the secretaryship men to whom 
it does not now appeal, men who wish to enter a vocation in 
which brains have rank at least equal to that of "steam." 
There is a type of man who combines both motor-mindedness 
and intellectuality; we need such men, and the Association 
calling should be made a congenial one for them. 

5. Research Gives Standing 

The results of advanced study and research applied to the 
problems of the Association would so count to elevate the whole 
tone of the work as to give the employed officer more standing, 
and the vocation status as a profession. 

6. Study and Leadership 

On this subject of the need of Association secretaries for 
advanced study, John Bradford of Montreal writes, "So far as 
my experience goes there is no difficulty in any man giving at 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 195 

least one hour a week to courses in this way. Last year three 
of our men took work in this line, while over 200 workers with 
the various social agencies in the city took courses. The 
response from the other agencies such as settlements, nursing 
orders, clubs, etc., was far greater than from our own men, 
which leads me to feel that this is a serious situation and one 
which demands attention. Certainly if workers in other fields 
of social and religious effort are willing to put in one or two 
hours a week in study in accredited universities and our work- 
ers cannot find time to do this, it is obviously only a question of 
time when from the standpoint of leadership in a community 
we shall be relegated to the rear." 

7. Study Produces Mental Alertness 

From the point of view of the secretary himself, he needs 
and often craves the opportunity for study to keep himself 
mentally alert. One of the most highly educated general sec- 
retaries in the movement writes : "I find that I do very much 
better work and do it a great deal more thoroughly if I take 
advantage of class-room work, if that can be secured. The 
older I grow the more I feel the need of the mental gymnastics 
of the school room." Another local general secretary writes 
thus of the work done at Columbia and at Harvard in the 
midst of a busy secretaryship: "Both of these courses were in 
the department of economics, and I feel that the broader view 
obtained and the cultural value of these courses was distinctly 
worth all they cost in both money and time." 

8. Such Study Is Being Done 

Now it is encouraging to be able to report that one finds both 
a conscience on this subject and a cordial response to the sug- 
gestion that more graduate study should be done by men active 
in the secretaryship. Further, it is good to be able to say that 
a few men here and there are now doing such study or have 
had successful experience with it. One general secretary who 
has carried university courses says he is going to do more next 
year. Several physical directors report work they have done at 



196 TRAINING A STAFF 

Harvard, and a number have studied in the universities located 
in New York City. 

One man reports thus : "When I was at Auburn, N. Y., both 
the general secretary and myself put in at least two hours a 
week in taking courses in religious education, psychology, and 
other subjects at the theological seminary in that city. It was 
simply a question of the arrangement of hours in our three- 
man Association." 

More data on this point will come out in the next section; 
this one merely reports a wholesome and encouraging senti- 
ment on the subject; the next will reenforce this optimism. 

II. Plans at Present in Operation 

i. Montreal 

A member of the Montreal staff teaches a course in McGill 
University called "The Social Development of a Community," 
and members of the staff take the course and other work in the 
McGill University Department of Social Service. 

2. New Haven 

Each man on the staff is urged to take a regular two-hour 
course in Yale University. Of the regular secretaries, "eight 
are either teaching or taking work or doing both at the uni- 
versity." The whole Brotherhood knows how this Association 
has been growing under the present administration. 

j. Columbus 

Young college graduates coming on to the Columbus staff 
enter Ohio State University as graduate students and take a 
course designated as Sociology 115-116, which is listed in the 
catalogue as a field course. This course gives eight hours' 
credit for two years' work. The supervisor of this course 
simply tells the Association secretary to carry out his regular 
work at the Association under the direction of his senior secre- 
tary. Clifford K. Brown, who directed the training of the men 
at Columbus, says: 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 197 

"We expect our men to take three two-hour periods per week 
at the University, in addition to the three forty-five minute 
periods in our building. The courses undertaken by our men 
this year have all been in the field of Psychology, Sociology, 
Economics, and Political Science. They have included courses 
on the negro problem, on community recreation, on recreation 
and leisure, and also theories of social practice. Next year the 
two men who remain with us as second year men will write 
their master's thesis along some line of work definitely a part 
of their Association duties here. It is more than likely that one 
of the men will make a survey of certain industrial conditions, 
which survey will be very valuable to us a little later on when 
we undertake work in those communities where the survey was 
made. I, personally, am positively convinced that we have run 
across a very happy solution of the training problem. We at- 
tempt hereafter to take no men but college graduates, and to 
sign them up for two years. We insist that the men look upon 
these two years in exactly the same way as any professional 
student would look upon graduate work in preparation for his 
profession. 

"I am very glad to say that our men have done very credit- 
able work at the University. The University seems to be en- 
tirely satisfied." 

Three men were taking the university course as part of their 
Association training. Thirty hours of credits are required for 
the master's degree at the Ohio State University, usually cov- 
ered in two years' work. As indicated above, the Association 
men receive eight hours' credit for work done in the Associa- 
tion building and take courses at the University giving them 
twenty-two hours' credit. Mr. Brown further comments, "This 
enables a student to secure his master's degree at the end of 
the second year without seriously interfering with the work 
which he does in our building. This means that our Fellowship 
men will be bigger men and better men than they otherwise 
would be." 

4. New York City 

The policy in New York City provides that full-time secre- 
taries may carry one course in a college or university. One 
man secured his master's degree by giving two and three hours 



198 TRAINING A STAFF 

a week to university work for three years. Mr. Walter T. 
Diack, the general secretary of the New York City Association, 
favors the men's carrying university work where this is part 
of a man's training for the secretaryship and where the As- 
sociation work is clearly the man's first interest. Mr. Diack 
writes, "When a man has asked about study, I have recom- 
mended that he take as much as he can drive but not so much 
that it drives him. When an Association secretary's work 
drives him, he is liable to neglect either his study or the As- 
sociation activities and to find satisfaction in neither." 

The man referred to above who took his master's degree 
says, "I found that I could carry two or three hours a week 
for the three years that I studied without any interference with 
my regular work ; in fact the diversion was a help. In my case 
I made the Association work the main objective and the educa- 
tional advantages secondary." 

5. Philadelphia 

W. O. Easton, secretary at Philadelphia Central, writes : 

"Usually each season several of our men take up work at 
the University of Pennsylvania or Temple College or elsewhere, 
looking toward further training for improved service within the 
Association. ... In all the cases we have had we have felt 
that the courses taken, selected usually after counsel, have con- 
tributed to the efficiency of the man in his immediate task. 
Sometimes the men have overloaded in courses and have been 
obliged to discontinue some of them so that their Association 
duties should not suffer. As nearly as we have summarized our 
experience, our men have not been able to take more than four 
hours' class work and carry a full schedule of Association 
duties. When they attempt more than this, either one or the 
other suffers. I do not think we have had ill effects from 
encouraging our men to do college work while carrying their 
full schedule." 

6. International Committee 

The International Committee home department has fre- 
quently found it desirable to have members of its staff take 
work in Columbia University, New York University, and near- 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 199 

by seminaries. Such specialization, relating to work the man 
was doing, has been along the lines of religious education, busi- 
ness administration, statistics, teaching, and other subjects. 
The Committee has no doubt that it pays. 

The Foreign Department has long followed the policy of 
having its men here on furlough do graduate work in first-class 
seminaries and universities. Secretaries for Japan, a country 
which is in the midst of a great industrial development with 
almost overwhelming problems, have this year taken most valu- 
able work on industrial and labor questions. The keen business 
men back of the Foreign Department know that this is a wise 
policy. One is reminded of Dr. Mott's phrase, "Time spent in 
sharpening the sickle is not lost in the harvest." 

p. Summer Schools 

Many of the large universities conduct very high-grade sum- 
mer schools for periods of six weeks. Different secretaries 
have been given leave of absence and taken these courses with 
great profit. They offer tempting programs. 

III. Possible Arrangements 

On the basis of what is now being done in a few places, what 
has been done in scattered instances, and conversations and cor- 
respondence with employed officers, the following suggestions 
are offered as to ways in which provision may be made for the 
opportunity for graduate study by employed officers : 

1. Work for A.M. Degree 

On this arrangement, a young man just out of college is re- 
cruited to the Association staff with the understanding that he 
is to give about six hours of time a day to scheduled duties with 
the Association and to be allowed to carry four hours a week 
at the university counting toward a master's degree, which is 
to be secured in two or at most three years. Perhaps, as at 
Columbus, the university may consent to give academic credit 
for training-center courses taught in the Association and for 



200 TRAINING A STAFF 

experimental work in the Association, making the securing of 
the A.M degree easily possible in two years. 

Where this is the plan, it should be clearly understood that 
preparation for the Association vocation is the end sought, and 
not the securing of a degree. The job at the Association is not 
a pot-boiler to make school work possible ; it is not a means of 
paying expenses while taking an A.M. The man goes to 
that Association to receive training for the secretaryship, and 
his daily work, his training-center classes, and his university 
studies are of coordinate importance to that end. All this 
should be clearly understood in advance by both parties to the 
arrangement. Naturally the man in training does not receive 
as much salary as he would get for eight hours a day of un- 
divided Association work. He should, however, receive enough 
to make decent living possible, to provide a margin of savings 
upon which to get married, and to make the situation attractive. 

This policy might necessitate a slightly larger junior staff. 
Three instead of two young college men might be required to 
cover the fifteen hour a day front-office schedule. But the 
extra salary will be fully compensated for by the improvement 
in the quality of work done, by the better type of man drawn 
to the position, the improved standing of the Association as 
an employer, more scientific work by the staff, and a finer lead- 
ership for the Association Movement. 

The general secretary who sees the power of this plan will 
personally go to colleges near his city or in his state and get in 
touch with prospective candidates, not a few weeks but a year 
in advance. He will fish in certain ponds year by year until 
it becomes a recognized thing in that institution that one of the 
best students in the senior class is to be chosen for an attractive 
Fellowship in a certain large city Association, with opportunity 
for specialized graduate work in preparation for the Associa- 
tion secretaryship. Is such a tradition an asset to that Associa- 
tion? It is a regular endowment! 

2. Special Work 

This plan, the one followed at McGill, Yale, and by the In- 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 201 

ternational Committee, does not contemplate the winning of a 
degree, though that is desirable, if possible. The end sought is 
the preparation of the secretary for high-grade work along 
some important line related to his duties. This might require 
one, two, or three periods a week of college work, and such 
opportunities should be open to any man on the staff. 

3. Sabbatical Year 

One of the Association's highly respected intellectual leaders, 
Prof. H. H. Home of New York University, has suggested the 
advisability of granting to strong secretaries a sabbatical year, 
or part of a year, of absence for this sort of study. The As- 
sociations that institute such a plan will reap a reward of better 
work, higher local and general standing, fewer staff changes, 
and more general satisfaction or morale, with a growing place 
of constructive leadership in the Brotherhood. Such study is 
sure to result in an important new departure in forms of service 
to the men and boys of the city, a more resultful religious 
education, and higher productiveness generally. 

Naturally, all or a large part of the secretary's salary must 
go right on while he is away. It may be that eventually the 
Association Movement will possess scholarships that will be 
available for such men — real scholarships in four figures, for 
nothing else will count. 

4. University Summer School 

More men should avail themselves of the work offered in six 
weeks' courses by the large universities. These courses cover 
almost every line of Association interest — physical, educational, 
religious, industrial, administrative, and others. Some of us 
will be moved to object at once that these men should be in the 
regular Association summer schools at that time. Two points 
should be borne in mind. First, the Association should avoid 
too much inbreeding, and should go into other fields to gather 
its fruits. Second, the Association summer schools were made 
for the secretaries and not the secretaries for the summer 
schools. When a secretary can find something better some- 



202 TRAINING A STAFF 

where else, the good must not be the enemy of the best. One 
summer out of three or four in a university summer school 
will be an immediate gain for the secretary and an ultimate 
gain for the whole Movement. 

5. Release after Two Years 

It frequently develops that in the course of two years of 
service with the Association a bright young secretary finds a 
field in which he wishes to specialize. Perhaps he discovers a 
clear gift in educational work. However, his college training 
has been only general and he knows little or nothing about the 
theory of education. As a result, he wabbles and wanders in 
a field in which with a year of study in Teachers' College, he 
could walk with force and directness. Yet time after time such 
men fail to secure this greatly needed initial preparation, and 
twenty years of subsequent service are far less effective than 
they might have been ; and the Association has a lot of pseudo- 
specialists, men of much earnestness and practical skill but de- 
flected by fundamental errors of procedure and hampered by 
lack of good tools. 

All this can be changed if we will cease our hand-to-mouth 
existence and give our promising young secretaries a chance to 
get some fundamental preparation for specialized departments 
such as educational, religious, and boys' work. A year of study 
after two years of service will often direct men to principles 
and paths to be followed for many succeeding years, to the 
great gain of the Association. Men leaving on such an errand 
will naturally assume certain obligations as to returning. 

6. Thesis Work 

Activities carried on by the secretary can often be the basis 
of work on a thesis directed by a university expert and count- 
ing for academic credit. We have opportunities for experi- 
mentation in religious, general, vocational, and physical educa- 
tion, for instance, to name only a few, equalled by no other 
experiment-station. Survey, plan, experiment, report, use — 
what a chance if we ever see and seize it ! 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 203 

7. Teaching 

At some universities a few secretaries have done regular 
teaching along Association lines. McGill and Yale and the 
Pacific School of Religion are cases in point. It is a stimulus 
for the teacher and helps to prepare men for Association work. 
There are plenty of secretaries qualified for such teaching, we 

are proud to report. 

• 

8. Possible Cities 

The list of places where this plan could be worked is good 
to look at. If there were but few such possibilities it would 
hardly be worth suggesting to the Brotherhood as a whole. But 
think of Boston and Cambridge, with Harvard, Boston Univer- 
sity, and M. I. T. ; New Haven with Yale ; Hartford with the 
Hartford School of Religion; New York and Brooklyn with 
Columbia, New York University, and Union ; Montreal with 
McGill; Toronto with the University; Philadelphia with the 
University of Pennsylvania; Chicago with the University; St. 
Louis with Washington University; Nashville with Vanderbilt 
and Peabody ; Pittsburgh with the University ; Columbus, Cin- 
cinnati, Providence, Rochester, Baltimore, Minneapolis, St. 
Paul, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Lincoln, 
Denver, Seattle, Madison, Atlanta, and Syracuse — to name only 
some of the outstanding cities where in most cases the Associa- 
tions employ a large staff. 

IV. The Association Colleges 

The opinion is held that ways can easily be worked out 
whereby the Association colleges can play a more important 
part than has thus far been arranged in the training of secre- 
taries in the secretaryship. The function of the college has 
been conceived as a rule as that of training men for the secre- 
taryship, and general secretaries here and there who realize the 
importance of these institutions have sent them new recruits 
for one or another phase of the Association vocation. But 
it is possible to make a much larger use of the facilities af- 
forded by the colleges. After conferring with some of the 



204 TRAINING A STAFF 

Association college authorities, the following suggestions were 
offered as ways in which local Associations can secure profitable 
training relations with the colleges : 

1. Go to the Association colleges for shorter or longer terms 
to make use of the research facilities of these institutions in 
studying questions bearing on local Association problems. The 
libraries and laboratories of the colleges are available for such 
work, where proptr arrangements are made, and the experience 
of the members of the faculties in scientific research should be 
drawn upon more largely than has heretofore been the case. 

2. Men frequently enter the Association secretaryship with- 
out special training, who do not find in a particular field the 
proper means and facilities for their self-education. After 
these men have demonstrated their likelihood of success in the 
secretaryship to a degree justifying the spending of time and 
money on further preparation, they should be encouraged to 
take work in the Association colleges, with a view to learning 
proper methods of study and getting a broader foundation for 
a professional career with the Association. 

3. Members of the faculty of the Association colleges will 
in certain cases make syllabi of courses covering nine months' 
reading and study, including suggestions concerning the 
preparation of special papers. 

4. All the colleges have expressed a willingness to have 
members of their faculties visit local Associations and help in 
setting up certain phases of training for members of the staff. 

Developments of this kind will be in line with the tendencies 
in our state universities during the past ten years. Formerly 
the great resources of these institutions appeared to be open 
only to those men who could completely cut away from other 
duties and enter the universities as full and regular students. 
Latterly the university has conceived itself as owing a duty 
not only to those students who come on to its campus but to a 
large number of men and women throughout the state for 
whom study in residence was out of the question. As a result, 
extension courses, institutes, special service, advice and counsel, 
and visitation service were instituted by the university until it 



UNIVERSITY RELATIONS 205 

was said of one state — Wisconsin — that one person in every 
ten was receiving direct benefit from the State University at 
Madison. A similar development within the Young Men's 
Christian Association would be both timely and welcome. The 
relation of the field to the colleges has been largely that of 
supplying students and money, a few of the former and not too 
much of the latter. Doubtless our Association colleges will in 
time parallel the field service of our state universities and will 
devise definite means whereby they can have a relation to the 
training of men in, as well as for, the Association vocation. To 
make this possible and effective, it will of course be necessary 
for the field to render the colleges more hearty and effective 
financial support, in order that the faculties may be strength- 
ened sufficiently to make visitation and extension work possible. 

V. Summary 

Seven reasons are urged for the Association secretary to avail 
himself of the opportunities for graduate study to be found 
in over thirty large American and Canadian cities. Sufficient 
experimentation has been done along this line by secretaries 
in large cities to justify the recommendation that much more 
of this sort of thing should be done. Its results would prob- 
ably be seen not only in better trained men but in the increased 
attractiveness of the Association secretaryship to men seeking 
a vocation in which they will have full opportunity for the use 
not only of their physical energies but of their intellectual re- 
sources, and in which study and research are encouraged. It 
might result in developing that desired type of secretary desig- 
nated by one of the state secretaries of New York as "the 
thinking executive." 

No one form of university relations is recommended for 
every city. Experimentation, not standardization, is the word 
for this stage of the development of the plan. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 

Analysis 

I. Scope of This Chapter 
II. Purposes of the Summer School 

i. Continuous training 

2. Hasty preparation 

3. Training in fundamentals 

4. Interchange of experience and opinion 

5. Advanced work 

6. Contacts 

7. Inspiration 

8. Incentive to study at home 

9. Professor Home quoted 

10. Which of these? 

11. Educational aim 

12. Have we erred? 

III. Processes in Relation to Function 

1. Class-room work 

2. Supervised study 

3. Private study 

4. Interviews 

5. Chapel 

6. Examinations 

7. Book tests 

8. Social distractions 

9. Faculty meetings 

10. Exhibits 

11. Mode of enrolling 

12. Advertising and promotion 

IV. Equipment in Relation to Function 

1. Rooms 

2. Chairs and tables 

3. Blackboards 

4. Study facilities 

5. Library 

206 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 207 

V. Curriculum in Relation to Function 

1. English Bible 

2. Association history and principles 

3. Religious work principles and methods 

4. Educational processes 

5. Association methods 

6. Project units 

7. Related general knowledge 

8. World work and outlook 

9. Problems of the modern city 

10. Church history 

11. The personal life of the secretary 

12. Leadership, group and personal 

13. Boys' work 

14. Industrial work 

15. Fundamentals of Christian faith and teaching 

16. Courses for secretaries' wives 

17. Three general problems 

VI. Teachers in Relation to Function 
VII. Summary 

Problem 

What arrangements in regard to processes, equipment, cur- 
riculum, and teachers will make the summer schools contribute 
most in the training of secretaries ? 

I. Scope of This Chapter 

This discussion is limited to the distinctly educational as- 
pects of summer schools, as they appear to a general secretary 
who is seeking to give his staff training advantages and to 
further his own growth. A number of phases of the summer 
school question that are discussed in the Conference on Pro- 
fessional Training are not touched upon here. This is not 
meant to be a treatment of the whole summer school problem. 
The point of view of the local general secretary and his staff 
is the basis of selection of topics. National aspects of the sub- 
ject are not considered, nor are managerial questions, apart 
from their relation to good teaching, for this is a book on staff 
training and not on Association theory as a whole. The needs 
of the student, not the needs of the school, constitute our theme. 



208 TRAINING A STAFF 

The presentation is at some points not so full as it would be 
had not these been so well covered in Mr. Urice's monograph, 
"The Silver Bay Experiment of 1919," published by Associa- 
tion Press. The educational theory underlying each treatment 
is the same, and the monograph should be read with this chap- 
ter. Its thirty-six pages report an important effort to bring the 
Association summer schools into harmony with the best modern 
educational thought. 

Our procedure will be to consider the function of the sum- 
mer school and then the relation of processes, equipment, and 
curriculum to securing this end. 

II. The Purposes of the Summer School 
1. Continuous Training 

The summer schools grow out of a realization on the part 
of progressive secretaries that their training is a continuous 
matter, and not a thing ever completed. They rest on the con- 
viction of Association employed officers that they must take a 
period of time every year for special study of their work and 
preparation for more effective service. The schools are a popu- 
lar democratic institution developed by the secretaries them- 
selves to meet their own needs, and are consequently designed 
to train further men who are already in the secretaryship. 

These schools should not be thought of as a short-cut to 
training for the Association vocation. Experience shows that 
they are not especially effective in getting men ready for the 
secretaryship. Their largest effectiveness is with men who 
come to them with a background of actual experience and real 
problems upon which they want light. Of course they are of 
value to the inexperienced beginner, but an examination of the 
achievements of the summer schools shows that they serve best 
that end for which they were designed — the further training of 
men having some secretarial experience. The psychology of 
the apperceptive basis is the scientific explanation of this fact. 

This function clearly recognized, it is evident that the sum- 
mer school is in no sense a rival of nor substitute for the train- 
ing center or the Association college, the standard agencies for 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 209 

the training primarily of inexperienced men. The summer 
school cannot take the place of either of these agencies, nor can 
either training center or Association college fill the place of the 
summer school. It has its own function, and is the only agency 
in that field. 

2. Hasty Preparation 

Emergency situations frequently lead to the use of the sum- 
mer school as a means of getting a man ready quickly for a 
position he is to take in the fall. New men frequently enter 
the work through the open door of the summer school. We 
fool ourselves, however, if we think this is good preparation, 
or a real function of the institution. It is a hasty makeshift, a 
life-buoy to keep a man from drowning; indeed, it has just 
about the same desirability as a preliminary training agency as 
a life-preserver has as a means of navigation ; it keeps the man 
afloat until someone rescues him. 

This is not said in derogation of the summer school. It is a 
protest against misusing it, and expecting it to do things it 
cannot do well. Men cannot be effectively trained for a voca- 
tion away from the scenes of that vocation. The school-teacher 
is trained in a practice school, the engineer in a mill, shop, or 
engineering project, the lawyer in his moot court, and the doc- 
tor in a clinic and hospital. After he has had actual experience, 
the doctor can go apart from the scene of his work for confer- 
ence with other doctors about his problems. Such conferences 
would be valueless to him before his laboratory and hospital 
days. Just so with the secretary. The conference and class- 
room processes have their largest value after or in the midst 
of experience. For this reason the summer school is a valuable 
training for experienced secretaries, and of minor value (we 
do not say no value) to the inexperienced beginner. For him 
it is at best hasty, makeshift training, and this should not be 
forgotten or overlooked. 

J. Training in Fundamentals 

One of the purposes of the summer schools is well stated in 



210 TRAINING A STAFF 

a conference report as "to furnish training in fundamental As- 
sociation objectives, principles, and current developments." 
They serve these three purposes well, as all secretaries of ex- 
perience will testify. Men are every year conscious of the cor- 
rective of deflection received in them, of a brightening up of 
an obscured objective, a new grasp of principles already 
learned, and a view of principles not previously recognized. 

4. Interchange of Experience and Opinion 

It is a great thing to go to the summer schools, tell about 
one's difficulties, and learn how others have met the same situa- 
tion. This value is especially characteristic of those classes in 
which discussion is a feature, and to which all make their con- 
tribution. But, even where class-room work is at its best, per- 
haps the best education consummated at the summer schools 
takes place when two or three men pull up their chairs and talk 
it over. These small conferences and conversations are among 
the chief prizes. 

5. Advanced Work 

Frequently summer schools offer courses having a relation to 
Association work, but not part of its own technique — courses 
in social theory, economics, biography, and other related general 
knowledge. These opportunities for specialized study or 
glimpses into interesting fields are in full harmony with the 
purposes of the institution, and are one of its proper functions. 

6. Contacts 

The social and professional contacts with fellow-secretaries 
and the leaders of the movement are of real -training value. 
This opportunity for fellowship in the vocation and for study- 
ing the personality of men in the same work is a feature not 
to be lowly appraised. It helps to make a great movement 
become a real brotherhood and elevates the conception of what 
a secretary should be. 

7. Inspiration 

This function is well served. It would be a cold man indeed 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 211 

who could go through the usual two weeks and not feel the 
thrill of his calling, receive inspiration to better living and more 
effective service, experience the very presence of God, and have 
his whole vision enlarged. There is also the inspiration of in- 
creased ability. There is truth in the statement that "the skill- 
ful man is the inspired man." Knowledge that we can now do 
the thing better makes us impatient to begin the task. 

8. Incentive to Study at Home 

This two weeks' experience in study frequently makes men 
want to do more study. Lines of investigation are suggested, 
avenues of research occur to one, good books are mentioned, 
and the whole value of study is made clear. Mental machinery 
gets oiled, intellectual joints and muscles are stretched, and 
study takes on new attractiveness. This function, now some- 
what incidental, might well receive more attention. 

9. Professor Home Quoted 

"The aim of the summer school is the cultivation of effective 
personality. It involves certain information as to principles 
and applications, directions to sources of help, training in ac- 
complishment of tasks, vision, and imaginative grasp." This 
was said extemporaneously in conference, so all that it involves 
may not have been mentioned. As it is, the statement is worth 
studying. 

10. Which of These ? 

Two entirely different ideas of the function of the summer 
school are held by summer school leaders. Some say the 
students want to be told how to do things, and what to do ; that 
they come to get their notebooks filled with good outlines and 
suggestions. They come to "tank up," so to speak. The other 
group thinks quite differently. They admit that this tanking-up 
process may be what the students come for, but think a better 
thing can be done for them. Teach them to dig wells. The 
tank runs dry or leaks. The man who can dig wells never lacks 
water. Instead of teaching men solutions, teach them how to 



212 TRAINING A STAFF 

solve. Instead of telling them what to think, teach them how 
to think. To quote Dewey again, help them to acquire "skill 
in methods of attack and solution." Shall we aim to produce 
obedient doers or "thinking executives" ? Shall we tank them 
up or teach them how to dig wells ? Is a man's mind a tank or 
is it a tool ? The answer determines the teaching process to be 
used. 

ii. Educational Aim 

The educational aim of the summer school should include the 
ideas of personal growth, larger ability to find a way out of 
difficulties, increased initiative and resourcefulness, outlook, 
and high character. The processes used should be carefully 
tested to see if they further these aims and measure up to the 
educational tests in section I of Chapter III. 

12. Have We Erred? 

Have we made a mistake in trying to combine school and 
vacation in a single two weeks' feature? Some think so. We 
have so presented attendance upon summer school that men 
have come to look upon it as one way of spending a vacation. 
The out-of-door features have been so played up that educa- 
tional elements are not getting due recognition. The baneful 
results of combining summer school and vacation, study and 
outing, are now becoming evident. They are these : 

a. Directors grant a two weeks' period as a vacation, with 
the expectation that the secretary will use it for summer school 
purposes. The secretary himself is father of the heresy. Let 
him repent and tell the directors that school is not a vacation 
activity, and that he wants two weeks for vacation, or a month 
if that is his allowance, and then two weeks for summer school 
in addition. Our employed officers will do well to separate 
vacation time and summer school time in their own and in their 
Board's thinking. Each object is a worthy one; each end 
should be properly served — school plus vacation, not school 
while on vacation. The sending of men to summer school 
should be regarded by directors and by staff as an important 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 213 

part of a year's work, and provided for both as to time and as 
to money entirely apart from all vacation plans. 

b. Attention while at the school is divided between a sense of 
duty to study and a sense of duty to get a rest. As a result, 
school work is but indifferently done in many cases, and vaca- 
tion interests do not get their due either. Men should come 
to the schools with the single duty of school work. Exercise 
and recreation will then be planned to further, not to frustrate, 
study. 

c. The equipment is both located and built as a vacation re- 
sort, with the result that the equipment is in almost all cases 
poorly adapted to class work or study. With the exception of 
Lake Geneva, not one of the schools is really well equipped 
for class-room work for a large number of men; and the ar- 
rangements for private study are poor in all the schools. They 
are all good vacation resorts, some of them excellent in that 
respect. As schools they are rather poorly provided with the 
necessary comforts and conveniences that make real study 
possible. 

The Association is now probably so thoroughly committed to 
these localities and buildings that a change is out of the ques- 
tion. The situation can be saved partly, however, by improving 
the class-room and study arrangements of our summer schools. 

III. Processes in Relation to Function 
1. Class-Room Work 

The detailed treatment of class-room procedure in chapters 
III and IV and Mr. Urice's monograph makes it unnecessary 
to discuss this at length here. Let us merely remind ourselves 
of a few of the fundamental considerations. 

The student is the center of class-room work. The per- 
sonality of the teacher and the material in his notebook or text- 
book are both of value in a school only as they meet the needs 
of the student. The student is the item of central importance. 
All procedure, then, should be based on meeting his needs. It is 
a recognized fact among educators that of all ways of meeting 



2i 4 TRAINING A STAFF 

these needs the lecture is the least effective. We must use a 
process that first discovers what a student needs and that then 
helps him to secure it. To deliver a lecture the first day is to 
build without a foundation. Begin with a discussion that lo- 
cates the problems of the men, and proceed with discussions as 
to how to solve these problems ; and remember that no one ever 
learned to skate by being told how. He had to put on the skates 
and skate. The "gym and swim" instruction, as Professor 
Home pointed out, are based on sound pedagogy. Our process 
must be based on the largest possible participation of the 
student. Next to sleeping, listening to a lecture represents his 
least participation, and some even sleep. 

Instruction in class-room methods should be made available 
for those teachers who need it, and the class-room work of all 
teachers should be supervised by experts. Summer school 
teaching must progress beyond its present amateur status. 

For certain kinds of work, a forty-five minute period is en- 
tirely inadequate. Schedules should be so adjusted as to make 
it possible for certain groups to work together for a time 
equal to two of the usual periods. Two consecutive periods 
can often be used to better advantage than two periods a day 
apart. 

Whatever the content of a course, it should lead to some sort 
of conclusions and a definite program of action. At the least 
extreme, this conclusion might be that more study is needed, 
and the program of action might be a plan of study and re- 
search. At the other extreme will be found clear-cut, definite 
decisions and well-set-up detailed plans. Both extremes, the 
extreme least and the extreme most, are worthy; the essential 
thing is that the impression result in expression. 

2. Supervised Study 

Most men, college graduates included, have not learned to 
study — more is the pity. This deficiency in the education of 
all of us the summer schools can help to make up, for during 
the last ten years the subject of how to study has been itself 
studied and good methods are now available. An evening study 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 215 

period of an hour or an hour and a half should be scheduled, 
a good room, well lighted and mosquito-proof, should be pro- 
vided, tables arranged, and teachers present to guide where 
guidance is needed. The art of assignment and study super- 
vision should be taught the teachers, and this great educational 
advance of the past decade incorporated into our summer 
school plans. Literature on the subject is available, and ex- 
perienced men can be secured to handle the work. 

3. Private Study 

Faithful and earnest class preparation is made by many of 
the summer school students, as all who have studied or taught 
there know. The expectation of study on the part of both 
teachers and students, however, is often not large. Many 
courses proceed with the clear understanding that no one is 
going to do any or much study, and the students sink to the 
level of the teachers' standard and their own ease. Study 
should, of course, be a central element in any school. To secure 
it several adjustments will be necessary. First, the require- 
ment of study by the teachers; second, time for study in the 
schedule, brought about by a reduction in the number of class 
periods to not over four a day and preferably three ; third, con- 
veniences for study; fourth, the atmosphere and tradition of 
study as a feature of the school; fifth, instruction as to how to 
study. 

4. Interviews 

Three kinds of interviews are possible at the summer school. 
The first is the private personal interview, where one man 
seeks out the student or leader with whom he wishes to talk. 
It is made more effective if before coming together the inter- 
viewer thinks out the questions he wishes to ask, writes each 
at the head of a slip of paper, and takes notes as the material 
comes under these questions. Note-taking stimulates the man 
being interviewed. It assures him of the serious purpose of his 
interviewer and of the worth-whileness of giving his best. The 
knowledge that what he says is being taken down makes him 



216 TRAINING A STAFF 

careful to say something worth taking down, and encourages 
him to supply details he would not mention in casual conversa- 
tion knowing they would be missed or forgotten. This sort of 
interview is a valuable educational tool, and its use should be 
encouraged as one of the regular advantages of the institution. 

The second sort of interview is the group interview as part 
of a class period, where the class prepares its questions in 
advance and has the man from whom it wishes data or informa- 
tion meet it during the class hour. It has possibilities far 
beyond its present use. Indeed, as an organized process it is 
not much used in the summer school, though a few teachers 
have employed it successfully. It is a simple plan. 

Like unto it is the third interview, in which a group of in- 
terested men plan to meet one from whom they wish informa- 
tion and for which meeting the preparation mentioned above is 
also made. 

The ethics of faithfulness in meeting appointments need only 
to be mentioned to be recognized and adopted. It has occasion- 
ally been suggested that teachers observe office hours for the 
benefit of their students. This is rather formal and may not 
be a good thing. Certain it is, however, that each teacher 
should have a genuine personal interview with each man in his 
class as early in the course as possible. 

5. Chapel 

The function of the chapel period is inspiration and the en- 
riching of the spiritual life. It is most effective when short, 
quiet, and free from announcements ; the physical arrangements 
should secure a compact and comfortable audience ; the leader 
should not be too far from his group ; the songs should be 
carefully selected and well led. Above all, the talk should be 
a gem of faithful preparation. 

6. Examinations 

The maxim that the best examination is a use is not so easily 
applied in summer school as in a training center, yet the 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 217 

illustration printed as Appendix B shows that it is applicable. 
If examinations are drawn up to test skill, ability, resourceful- 
ness, and initiative, they have far more educational value than 
if they are mere tests of memory or cramming. In a methods 
course the matter is simple. The examination in a course of 
religious work methods could be the drawing up of a policy for 
the field in which each man works. Such an examination is 
announced early in the course, and each man is allowed to use 
all the reference books and interviews he chooses. The paper 
is prepared outside of class hours, so none of the twelve 
precious periods are consumed in this work. If the paper re- 
produces in detail and without adaptation the plans discussed 
in class, it is a poor paper. Its worth is found in evidence of 
personal thought, skillful adaptation, resourcefulness, and 
ability to solve local problems. 

y. Book Tests 

Most of the summer schools require the reading of three 
books each year and the passing of a book test on each as a 
condition of receiving a certificate at the end of a three years' 
course. The plan has the unfortunate result of leading the 
beginner to think that this reading is in some way a preparation 
for the course he is to take. When he discovers that the books 
he has reviewed bear no relation to his class work, he feels 
either that he has been fooled or that the school plan is not 
well administered. It is a fine thing for the summer schools 
to encourage the reading of good books; but either an effort 
should be made to gear this reading into the school courses, or 
it should be eliminated as a requirement for a certificate. 

For the encouragement of reading apart from that related to 
class-room work, it would be very helpful if each school ar- 
ranged a presentation of good books in brief review during an 
hour when all students would be present. Men could easily be 
secured to tell what current books are of most importance, what 
lines of reading would be found helpful in relation to certain 
problems, and how to go about such reading. Small group dis- 
cussions with prepared leaders might be even more helpful. 



218 TRAINING A STAFF 

8. Social Distractions 

The social event, fellowship meeting, picnic, group outing, 
and departmental dinner — all these are recognized as legiti- 
mate features of the summer school as at present organized, 
be it written with sorrow; for they seriously break into solid 
school work and interfere with needed study periods. Shall 
they be ruled out as illegitimate? They should be confined to 
certain recognized periods and recreation hours. The evening 
affair should come off the calendar, and social features be 
limited to the afternoon. A time-limit needs to be placed upon 
social dinners, so as to enable the students to observe the 
regular evening study period. 

Let a committee study all the good features in the present 
distractions, and then plan events that conserve these and 
eliminate the elements that make against efficient school work. 
Teachers who try to do good honest teaching are utterly dis- 
couraged in their efforts by the present conflict between the 
two school features of work and play, and the serious students 
are held back by the unfaithfulness of their frolicking fellows. 
These same frolics can be made an asset, whereas they are now 
a dead liability to the school. "The Silver Bay Experiment of 
1919" made the issue clear. It is an issue in every school. 

p. Faculty Meetings 

Here is a process that has a vital relation to educational 
functions. There is room for a lot of improvement. The' 
school leaders need to recognize the fact that many of the 
teachers are in fact not teachers but executives, and are fre- 
quently poorly equipped to teach. At the opening faculty 
meeting the leader sometimes says he recognizes the fact that 
the men who are going to do the teaching are all experts, so 
each man is given full freedom to conduct his course as he 
pleases. Experts in their own work, yes ; in teaching, as a rule, 
no. Furthermore, many a man whose regular vocation is that 
of teacher knows little about the teaching process, especially if 
he is a teacher in a college ; and this fact is receiving increasing 
recognition in educational circles. A recent important work, 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 219 

"College Teaching," by Professor Paul Klapper of the College 
of the City of New York, is based on this very idea. There- 
fore we are not disrespectful to secretaries when we say that 
most of them are not good teachers. 

The function of the faculty meeting should be to set teach- 
ing standards and ideals, work out teaching processes, confer 
on teaching difficulties, and improve teaching methods. Where 
the summer school executive is himself not an expert teacher, 
he should secure someone for the purpose who is. Several 
meetings should be held each session — one before the course 
begins, one at the end of the first week, and one at the end of 
the session, and educational practice should be a major topic of 
discussion. 

10. Exhibits 

Not enough use has been made of the educational exhibit as 
a feature of the summer school. Samples of printed matter, 
written policies, photographs of groups and features, organiza- 
tion charts, graphs, outlines of plans — these and other exhibit 
material have large educational value. A committee of secre- 
taries could organize this feature and make much of it. Such 
exhibits would be carefully studied by the students and highly 
appreciated. 

11. Mode of Enrolling 

The summer school leaders try to get each man into the 
courses that will help him most. Perhaps more could be done 
along the line of considering more carefully the attainments and 
needs of each student as he applies for enrolment. Many need 
and frankly want guidance in their choice of studies. In giv- 
ing this counsel the man's own situation should weigh more 
heavily than certain school rules as to courses required. Now 
just this careful investigation of the man's needs will often 
send him into that same required work, but it will be because 
he needs it and not because it is a rule that he shall take it. 

Two ends should be served — the student's fundamental 
preparation and future growth, and his preparation for the task 



220 TRAINING A STAFF 

just ahead. These ends sometimes seem to be in conflict. Just 
here is where the occasion arises for careful investigation and 
counsel. Perhaps a committee sitting for this purpose might 
lighten the burden of the work involved in such advice, each 
member of the committee acting separately but according to 
well-recognized procedure, with the man, not the system, as 
his center of thought. 

12. Advertising and Promotion 

Students would be helped in their choice of subjects and 
more students would be attracted to the schools if the an- 
nouncements were more fully descriptive. Full directions are 
given as to how to reach the schools, and the scenic beauties of 
the location are well advertised. The studies themselves are 
not well presented. There needs to be more full description 
along two lines. 

a. What is this course about? Paragraphs of five or six 
lines might well be devoted to each subject. 

b. Who is going to teach it? What has he done that he 
should be asked to teach this course? A mere name and title 
may mean little to that often-mentioned secretary at Podunk. 

IV. Equipment in Relation to Function 

Something has already been said on this subject. The chief 
criticisms of the schools' equipment center around four 
features. Not all of the schools are sinners in all these re- 
spects, but each gets a fairly high score. 

i. Rooms 

Are the class-rooms light enough and sufficiently ventilated ? 
Silver Bay has all the light and air one can ask for. Some 
of the Blue Ridge rooms are quite dark and poorly ventilated. 
Each school can easily find its own grade in this subject. 

2. Chairs and Tables 

Are the chairs comfortable? Those in the class-room and 
those in the rooms where men have to study? Are the study 
tables solid or wobbly? Or are they absent altogether? 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 221 

j. Blackboards 

A good blackboard is a teacher's joy. Lake Geneva is fairly- 
well equipped in this respect, but the other schools should 
repent and do much better. 

4. Study Facilities 

Can students study in their rooms with pleasure and com- 
fort? Are the lights good? Are the mosquitoes and moths 
screened out? Or if fixing up the rooms for study is out of 
the question, is a good study hall provided, with screens, lights, 
tables, and good chairs ? 

5. Library 

Just what library a summer school should have, is an un- 
answered question. If the study hall and library could be com- 
bined and ample reference books on the Bible, religious educa- 
tion, Association history and methods, and related subjects 
could be available in sufficient quantities to make their use in 
the preparation of lessons practicable, it would be a great aid to 
good teaching. 

No one feature of the summer schools is so open to criticism 
as this absolute failure to provide the facilities necessary to 
real study and class-room work. Mark Hopkins on one end of 
a log and a student on the other may constitute education ; but 
there are so few such teachers that most of the logs might bet- 
ter be worked up into equipment to make up some of the 
deficiencies of most of us as teachers. That Hopkins log story 
is worked overtime to excuse a lot of indifference and neglect. 
The picture of Lincoln doing arithmetic problems on the back 
of a shovel by fire-light is also brought up; but there are few 
Lincolns. If the summer schools are to measure up to their 
really wonderful opportunities and serve their functions well, 
we must see that they are better equipped for their work. 

V. Curriculum in Relation to Function 

A good deal can be said in praise of the choice of subjects 
taught in Association summer schools. The curriculum is as a 



222 • TRAINING A STAFF 

rule first-class; criticism centers chiefly around the teaching 
methods and equipment. The areas covered by the courses 
are worth while, pertinent to the work, well-balanced in propor- 
tion, pretty well graded, and the courses are farseeing in their 
outlook. This is due to the fact that they have been arranged 
by men expert in the secretaryship and well informed as to its 
content, demands, and processes. What are the important 
studies that should be provided for in the general course for 
city secretaries, the trunk course from which others branch 
out farther along? 

i. English Bible, the New and the Old Testaments 

Happily, the Association summer schools are moving away 
from courses of lectures about the Bible and proceeding with 
sure steps to courses of actual study of the Bible by the 
students. The student summer conferences were the first, 
strangely enough, to see that the summer school must give the 
student the type of study and leadership that the student can 
and should reproduce in his home Association. The summer 
school can set the whole type and standard of the Association 
in the matter of Bible study. 

How vital it is then, that both the content and the process 
be well chosen. The new policy of having secretaries who are 
students lead groups of their fellow-students in the first-year 
work will eventually be generally accepted, because of the con- 
vincing evidence of the success of this process in getting the 
students interested in the Bible, in teaching them how to study, 
in preparing them to lead classes, and in demonstrating a 
method whereby a city Association can get all the Bible teach- 
ers it needs and help the Sunday schools to solve the same 
problem. 

This plan was first worked out in the Student Department by 
Harrison S. Elliott, then adapted by him to the War Work 
Schools at Silver Bay, later tried with success in the combined 
first-year work in the regular session at Silver Bay and re- 
ported by Jay A. Urice, who worked with him, in "The Silver 
Bay Experiment of 1919," which should be secured from As- 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 223 

sociation Press and read in this connection. An increasing 
number of men will acquire skill in this practical method, and 
Bible study will have a new day in our Associations. At 
present nothing else holds out such promise of vitalizing our 
Bible study. It makes the Bible interesting to men, teaches 
them how to study it, how to teach it, and how to train teach- 
ers ; and any process that gives any promise of doing those four 
things is a boon to the movement. 

It may be that later on this method will be applied to the 
second and third years' work. At present it is based on com- 
bining all the first year men in one good course, and has not 
been extended beyond that. Perhaps that is as far as it should 
be employed. 

2. Association History and Principles 

Every man entering the work should naturally take a course 
in the history and principles of the Association Movement. 
This might well be required of all secretaries entering the sum- 
mer school who have not had it at an Association college or in 
a well-conducted training center. It can be studied in two 
ways — by the old academic process in which a chronological 
outline is followed, or by the newer and more vital process of 
problem study, in which an Association problem is attacked, 
and history and principles are brought in as matter helping 
toward a solution. An outline worked out on this basis with 
suggestions for teachers would be of great service and helpful- 
ness, and probably would be adopted by all the schools. The 
problem treatment will make history increasingly popular, as 
this brings out its usefulness and disarms the criticism of 
history as an academic subject. The general application of the 
method will probably await the appearance of suitable outlines 
and materials. 

3. Religious Work Principles and Methods 

Of all methods courses, this one is most fundamental and 
essential. Perhaps it, too, should be required for all men in 
all departments. The course should be a practical one, begin- 



224 TRAINING A STAFF 

ning with a study of the groups that make up a field, the needs 
of the men and boys in these groups, the objectives of religious 
work sought in relation to these men and boys, the methods to 
be used in reaching the men and boys as individuals, as groups, 
and by mass efforts, the results to be secured and by which a 
year's success should be tested. Here discussion is the obvious 
teaching method. Advanced work in this subject would consist 
of a study of religious education and pedagogy and of special- 
ized religious work methods, such as religious interviews, Bible 
study, and forums. Our programs seem a little weak here and 
the work in the local Association reflects the weakness in the 
summer school. The summer school programs of 1920 show 
some improvement over previous years, due to a realization of 
this very weakness. 

4. Educational Processes 

Salesmanship and promotion processes have made the As- 
sociation large. Only educational processes in all departments 
— social, religious, educational, physical, membership, financial, 
foreign, and others — can make the Association as solid as it is 
big. There are many places where, when tapped, the Associa- 
tion sounds hollow. Secretaries have been earnest students of 
selling processes. The great need now is an understanding 
of the fundamentals of education, and their application to the 
whole secretarial task. Some school will see this, devise a 
practical course for all secretaries, and usher in a new move- 
ment greatly needed. 

5. Association Methods 

The summer school methods courses are popular ones. They 
are of great importance, especially when taught in relation to 
the known needs of the students and not as lecture courses. 
The plan presented in Chapter IV, Section V, 4, is one way of 
conducting such a course. See page 91. 

6. Project Units 

One wonders if we shall soon be able to apply to our summer 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 225 

schools the developments in project teaching now being worked 
out in the Lincoln School in New York City by the Rockefeller 
Foundation and. in the Horace Mann School by Columbia 
University. This process discards the old analysis of subject- 
matter into sharply defined branches of study and abandons 
the formal methods of the schoolroom for a treatment of life 
situations as a unit, as a whole, drawing from any art or subject 
the material needed for the solution of a real problem in actual 
life. It is a fascinating speculation. The Silver Bay Boys' 
School has seen the vision. Maybe some day the Association 
will. It is not a game for amateurs, however. Highly trained 
teachers, with grasp and imagination, are needed. 

7. Related General Knozvledge 

Under this head are included social theory, economics, theory 
of education, advertising, and knowledge in any field from 
which the Association secretary draws in the pursuit of his 
vocation. Some might apply the term cultural subjects to these 
studies. They have a place in the course of study for secre- 
taries, increasing in proportion to other subjects as the secre- 
tary advances in his experience and study. 

8. World Work and Outlook 

The subject of the Foreign Work of the Association has been 
given six periods in all standard summer schools, and the Over- 
seas Division of the International Committee is making a 
serious effort to give these periods genuine educational value. 
A special conference was held at Lakehurst, N. J., in April, 
1920, to work out the content of this course and the method by 
which it should be taught, the teachers of the course spending 
four days in this preliminary preparation. This is taking sum- 
mer school-teaching seriously, as it should be taken. 

p. Problems of the Modern City 

Occasionally a course with this title is offered. It seems that 
such matter is so fundamental that it should be given to second 
or third year men every year. It would very likely lead men 



226 TRAINING A STAFF 

to reproduce the course in their own Associations, for either 
secretaries or laymen, and would promote personal study of 
city problems. 

10. Church History 

This is best studied as a course in religious problems, or the 
nature of modern religious movements. A chronological sur- 
vey of church history has no place in the summer school, but 
there is a real need for a better understanding of the religious 
sects and movements of the day and the problems of which 
these are proposed or tried solutions. 

ii. The Personal Life of the Secretary 

This course includes the maintaining of his spiritual life, his 
intellectual life, physical health, social and home problems, per- 
sonal efficiency, and many helpful things not properly placed 
anywhere else. 

12. Leadership, Group and Personal 

Several schools have given good courses in the psychology of 
leadership. The study is well worth a secretary's time, if he 
purposes to be a real leader of men and of movements. 

j j. Boys' Work 

The Association is a boy, as well as a man, movement. The 
principles and methods of boys' work should receive the atten- 
tion and study of all secretaries at some time during their 
training. 

14. Industrial Work 

The city Association is always in danger of becoming a clerk, 
or white-collar, group. The problems and needs of working 
men should enter into the course of study for all men in city 
work. The fulfilling of our complete mission requires it, and 
the study teems with interest. This course should include data 
on the economic situation and social and labor movements. 

15. Fundamentals of Christian Faith and Teaching 
Secretaries are not meant to be theologians, but they should 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 227 

know the grounds of Christian faith if they are to be religious 
leaders in truth. 



16. Courses for Secretaries' Wives 

What an opportunity the summer schools miss of undergird- 
ing the secretaryship with a group of wives who understand 
their husbands' tasks and know their problems ! It is more and 
more the custom for secretaries to bring their wives to the sum- 
mer schools. The schools should provide something more for 
them than porches and rocking-chairs. 

Three courses suggest themselves — one in Association prob- 
lems, one in the problems of a secretary's wife, and one in the 
outdoor life of the camp or school region, taught by a man 
who knows God's out of doors. What a new aspect the sum- 
mer school and the secretaryship would both take on! 

The provision of a kindergartner and story-teller for the 
children is also a suggestion worth considering. 

17. Three General Problems 

There are three curriculum problems which have not an 
obvious solution: 

a. Should all first-year men take a general course and 
specialize later on? The consideration in favor of this is that 
"in the introduction to their summer school training, students 
should come to see the Association as a whole and to recognize 
certain problems and principles as existing throughout the 
movement, and that the tendency toward departmentalization 
should not unduly grip men at a time when they need a vision 
of the entire scope of the work." The consideration against 
this course is the second question of the three, namely, 

b. How big can a class be and do good work ? Some public 
schools say thirty-five. Some of the best private and experi- 
mental schools limit a group to twenty, fifteen, or twelve. If 
the general course class is broken up into small working groups, 
such generalization and such small groups are highly to be 
desired. 



228 TRAINING A STAFF 

c. How many subjects should a man carry at once? War 
practice led us all astray on this point. We simply delude our- 
selves if we think men can do good work in more than four 
subjects. Four periods a day gives a student twenty- four 
periods a week, a pace no college in America will allow. It is 
far better to carry fewer subjects and get real results. The 
school that gets up its courage and limits work to three class 
periods a day, three courses, each one each day, will soon set a 
new high standard of work and prove the wisdom of its 
decision. 

Before this day can arrive, however, knowledge of how much 
good work the human mind is capable of will have to be more 
widely disseminated than it is now. For there are those who 
think that six periods a day is just about right — for the other 
fellow, be it noted. Three class-room periods a day with time 
for the study of each subject should be our standard if we are 
going to conduct real schools and achieve the fundamental 
purposes of the educational process. 

VI. Teachers in Relation to Function 

Who are the teachers upon whom we have to rely to make 
the summer schools serve their functions? Largely executive- 
minded secretaries. This is good, because it will keep the 
schools practical and in touch with real Association conditions. 
This fact saves the school from the man who lives apart from 
real life in a realm of theory not based on constant experience. 
But it has its disadvantages also. Enough has already been 
said on the subject of the teacher's needing to know how to 
teach as well as knowing his subject. Many secretaries have 
paid little attention to this matter. Among our teachers we 
will find these : 

1. The inspired teacher with a bad method. 

2. The average teacher with an average method. 

3. The man with method and no inspiration. 

Can we not pay more attention to this problem of summer 
school teachers, and gradually build up a teaching staff of men 
who, filled with fire and enthusiasm, also know how to teach? 



ASSOCIATION SUMMER SCHOOLS 229 

The problem is one that can be solved; but it will not solve 
itself. There must be a plan and its application. 

VII. Summary 

The Association summer school is one of the greatest assets 
of the Movement. No other national organization has any 
agency that equals or corresponds to it. These schools have a 
definite function that gives them a mission all their own and 
keeps them from being a rival of any other training agency. 
While at the present time about one-third of the secretaries 
of the American Associations attend them, their value justifies 
a larger and more regular attendance. Their functions are so 
important that every effort should be made to provide processes, 
equipment, courses of study, and teachers equal to the splendid 
opportunity the schools afford. The provision of these four 
factors of successful school work is not a simple matter, but the 
movement should be ever forward as the direction of progress 
becomes clear. 



CHAPTER XIV 

CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES 

Analysis 

I. The Objects of Conventions 
II. What Are the Training Values of Conventions? 

III. How Can We Give Conventions Larger Training Value ? 

IV. Essentials in This New Type of Convention 
V. Insuring Training Results 

VI. Conferences 
VII. Summary 

Problem 

What convention procedure will make the sessions count in 
the training of secretaries? 

I. The Objects of Conventions 

At the outset we frankly recognize that the training of secre- 
taries is not the primary reason for the holding of State and 
International conventions. At least five other objects are prob- 
ably more vital in the opinion of those responsible for the pro- 
gram and procedure. These are, first, the hearing of reports 
and the planning of new work ; second, the enactment of needed 
legislation; third, the unification of the movement and the crea- 
tion of a feeling of brotherhood ; fourth, the interchange of ex- 
perience with the presentation of methods and the solution of 
problems ; fifth, the encouragement and inspiration of workers 
and the arousing of enthusiasm. Then comes the training mo- 
tive, including laymen first and secretaries last. While em- 
ployed officers often form the bulk of Association conventions, 
the program is built for the layman and with his needs and 
interest in mind; and that is perfectly right and proper. 

But what if we can serve all these other interests at least as 

230 



CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES 231 

well as they are now served and at the same time give the con- 
vention more training value for the secretary ? And then what 
if we can devise a plan that will both train secretaries and also 
secure even improved results along the lines of the primary 
objects of the convention? Let us see if it can be done. 

II. What Are the Training Values of Conventions? 

Let us first select the already considerable opportunities for 
training presented by conventions. These constitute valid rea- 
sons for sending to them all the young secretaries possible. 
They are the opportunity of 

1. Meeting other secretaries, studying their personalities, 
learning their elements of strength and weakness, measuring 
one's self alongside of them, getting their ideas about things. 

2. Meeting and knowing the laymen who make up the move- 
ment, especially the leaders. 

3. Interchanging plans and experiences. 

4. Learning new methods. 

5. Solving problems. 

6. Taking part in state and international affairs, helping to 
create legislation, learning the large problems of the 
Association. 

7. Studying the convention method. 

8. Hearing reports of progress or failure. 

9. Seeing exhibits of policies, printed matter, photographs, 
charts, and appliances. 

10. Listening to great speakers. 

11. Getting wider vision and more inspiration. 

12. Deepening one's attachment to the work and feeling the 
pressure of a divine call. 

All these are not to be lightly considered, and all these 
values inhere in the present convention method. And yet a 
more excellent way is being shown unto us. 

III. How Can We Give Conventions Larger Training 

Value ? 

In general, provide for more genuine discussion of live issues, 



232 TRAINING A STAFF 

participated in by a larger number of men, meeting in small 
groups, and with more time available. 

Suppose the convention is going to meet Thursday night, 
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Use the mornings for smaller 
group discussions, the afternoons for larger forums in which 
are gathered up the results of the small morning meetings, and 
the evenings for the inspirational and informational addresses. 
Use Sunday as at present. 

That would give two days for very thorough discussion of 
two important phases of Association work. Instead of trying 
to cover the whole range of the Association's now vast list of 
activities, choose two things of vital interest and center upon 
them. Just for illustration, suppose the Ohio leaders decided 
that the two things they wished to center upon at the next 
State Convention were the securing of more service by mem- 
bers and the promotion of effective personal work by members. 
The achieving of these two ends is worth two days of any 
convention's time. 

Some time in advance of the convention have a group of men 
take each of these problems, study them thoroughly, and pre- 
pare a question outline like those in Chapters II, III, and IV, 
bringing out all the issues, considering all the difficulties, gath- 
ering data, and leading to some, but not predetermined, 
conclusion. 

It is anticipated that there will be 250 delegates at the con- 
vention. These are to spend the last two hours of Friday and 
Saturday morning in groups of ten or fifteen, discussing the 
problem for the day, guided by the outline of questions in the 
hands of a leader. These twenty-five or so leaders are brought 
together in advance of the others and trained in the sort of 
discussion they are to conduct. Thursday afternoon would be 
soon enough, Thursday morning better. 

In the afternoon all these groups come together in a forum, 
where the question is again discussed and speakers from each 
group present the findings of their discussion, leading to a 
general decision, policy, or program. This would require two 
hours of the afternoon period. 



CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES 233 

A convention of this sort is a working convention. What 
ordinarily constitutes the routine business of the convention 
could be taken care of at one of the three night sessions. It 
need not be a public session in the sense of being a popular 
meeting. There are three other nights available for these. 

The usual devotional or Bible hour would come at 9:00 or 
9 .-30 a. m., followed by these group discussions. 

Printed reports containing data and opinions upon the sub- 
jects to be discussed could be prepared by commissions in ad- 
vance and sent to all delegates before the convention. 

IV. Essentials in This New Type of Convention 

1. Discussion group leaders trained to conduct pertinent dis- 
cussion, such as is described in Chapters III and IV. 

2. Two hours or an hour and a half at least of time actually 
spent in each discussion or forum. 

3. A forum leader who would understand the art of getting 
results out of discussion, who would not repress or ridicule 
speakers who offer ideas or make funny remarks about those 
who participate; whose aim would be encouragement plus the 
group conclusion, not repression plus his own previously 
reached conclusion, the getting of a worthy decision, not the 
railroading of a bill. No steam-rollers need apply. 

4. Forum rules, by which the larger meeting is guided, such 
as limits of time for each speaker, no further remarks after 
two or three participations without the consent of the house, 
affirmative and negative speaking alternatively, and so forth. 

5. Blackboard and chalk, so as to keep track of what is said, 
and hold the immediate issue clearly before the meeting, and 
summarize conclusions. 

State conventions do not play the part in forwarding the 
movement that they once did. It may be that the development 
of a new type of convention, with larger provisions for par- 
ticipation by all delegates and higher training values would 
again bring this important agency to the front. The growth 
of state work during the past five years makes it appropriate 
that the state convention method also be brought up to date. 



234 TRAINING A STAFF 

The discussion group and the democratic forum are the proc- 
esses of the day. 

V. Insuring Training Results 

1. To make sure that each junior secretary gets all out of the 
convention that is possible, the general secretary should carry 
out some such plan as is set up in Chapter IX on "Inspection 
Trips," holding preliminary discussions before the convention 
on the issues and topics and personalities on the program, meet- 
ing once or twice during the convention sessions to compare 
notes, and holding a staff conference upon returning home, to 
classify conclusions and go over proposed plans. 

2. The new men should also be introduced around and their 
full enjoyment of the opportunities of the convention insured. 

3. Men in similar work in different places should be brought 
together, either informally, or at set-up round table meetings 
on special problems, as is the case at some commercial and in- 
dustrial conventions, the annual meeting of the National As- 
sociation of Corporation Training, for instance. 

VI. Conferences 

The procedure at Association conferences is more in har- 
mony with educational ideals than the procedure at conventions. 
The time allowed for each topic is, however, generally all too 
short, and the conclusions arrived at are often hastily reached 
and not the result of full discussion. A lecture can be delivered 
in forty-five minutes, but anything like a proper discussion 
requires an hour and a half or two hours. Few men on leaving 
the Employed Officers' Conference feel that the decisions or 
findings represent the best thought and ability of the group. 
All know that they are the result of hasty and inadequate work, 
and regard them lightly as a result. The commission reports 
are often good, the discussion of them rather inferior, and the 
findings worse. There is no way out except to limit the num- 
ber of topics to a few important issues and really get some- 
where with these. 



CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES 235 

VII. Summary 

These, then, are the things to strive for : conventions and con- 
ferences modified in their methods to embody some of the 
recent developments in educational theory and practice, notably 
the use of group discussion; the limiting of the number of 
topics so as to get more time for each and do more worthy 
work; a large attendance of young secretaries at state and 
national gatherings, with attention given these younger men by 
their general secretaries to insure their getting the most train- 
ing possible out of the convention. 



CHAPTER XV 

A NEW MAN'S FIRST WEEK 
Analysis 
I. A Typical Experience 

II. Plan the First Week 

1. Report at a stated time 

2. Board and room 

3. Tour of the city 

4. Tour of the building 

5. Printed matter 

6. Reading 

7. Introductions 

8. Vocabulary 

9. Conferences 

10. Evenings 

11. Sunday 

12. Results 

Problem 

How can a new secretary's first week with an Association be 
so organized as to get him properly started and give him a' good 
impression of the Association and its leadership ? 

I. A Typical Experience 

Some eighteen years ago one of the present executives in a 
large New York corporation was told to report to the New 
York office to begin work. He had just graduated from an 
engineering college, and came to New York filled with en- 
thusiasm for his new position. The man who had recruited 
him in college had told him how great was the need for trained 
engineers in this corporation, and he had come to New York 
full of the idea that he was going to a place where he was 
needed and that he was entering a work where his services 
would genuinely count. 

236 



A NEW MAN'S FIRST WEEK 237 

When he reported the latter part of the week, he was told by 
the executive to whom he reported that he, the executive, was 
too busy to see him at that time and that he should call on 
Monday. It was a disheartening experience, and he has never 
forgotten the flat disappointment of that reception. It seemed 
to turn all his cake to dough, and to take all the joy out of the 
new enterprise. 

Later this man, as one of the officers of that corporation, was 
given the responsibility of organizing and conducting the train- 
ing of scores of college men who entered its employ. He re- 
membered his own unhappy beginning and set about to devise 
plans which would make any such initiation into this corpora- 
tion for other college men an impossibility. He organized the 
first week of every newcomer so that each man would get the 
happiest kind of an introduction to his new duties and environ- 
ment and find in his new job not only a full realization of the 
situation that had been pictured to him by the recruiting officer 
who visited his college, but so much more than this that he 
would write back to his college friends that the half had not 
been told. 

His plan, a splendidly analyzed typewritten copy of which is 
in view as this is written, organizes a man's time during the 
first four days of his employment, tells the new employe to 
whom to report, and schedules the time of these first four days 
to include inspection trips through the building, talks from cor- 
poration officials, introductions to department heads, reading 
of interesting magazine articles and books on the products 
manufactured in the shops, and definite plans for the use of 
the first noon hour. 

Many a young secretary, upon reporting to the Association 
which has engaged him, has had the disheartening initial ex- 
perience of the New York executive. He was told the Associa- 
tion was greatly in need of men, that the vocation was one 
calling for the highest type of manhood, and that he was enter- 
ing a task in which all his powers would find opportunity for 
their fullest expression. Filled with these ideas, his first few 
days have often been periods of disillusionment. The general 



238 TRAINING A STAFF 

secretary has been too busy to see him or pay much attention 
to him; he has been turned over to others who were indifferent 
as to the nature of his start, and instead of finding an occupa- 
tion demanding his very best he has found it difficult to find 
something to occupy his time between rising and bedtime. The 
result is a great loss of idealism, enthusiasm, and morale; and 
a disillusioned man writes back to his friends that the Associa- 
tion secretaryship is not much of a job. 

II. Plan the First Week 

All this can be changed by each Association having a care- 
fully set-up plan for the reception and introduction of new men 
on the staff. Such a plan would include the following elements : 

/. Report at a Stated Time 

The new man should be told to report at a certain hour on a 
certain day and find the general or executive secretary expect- 
ing him and with plans for occupying his time immediately. 

2. Board and Room 

A man's mind should be relieved by early attention to the 
matter of getting him well located with proper rooming accom- 
modations and satisfactory arrangements for his meals. 

j. Tour of the City 

In an automobile, on the street car, or afoot, he should be 
taken about the city to get at once an idea of the environment 
in which he is to work, the lay-out of the city, some of its 
general features and characteristics, and a few of the principal 
streets. Upon his return to the building, if he has not done so 
previously or while making the tour, he should study the map 
to coordinate what he has seen with the plan of the city streets. 

4. Tour of the Building 

His first day should include a tour of the building, in charge 
of a senior secretary, in which the general lay-out of the plant 
and the theory of the use of the different rooms are introduced; 
he will thus learn what to find on the different floors. 



A NEW MAN'S FIRST WEEK 239 

5. Printed Matter 

Reports and printed matter on the work of the local Associa- 
tion should be put into his hands for study during the first few 
days, to help him familiarize himself with its work, activities, 
and schedules. 

6. Reading 

It might be well to take advantage of this psychological time 
to have the man begin the reading of some good book on the 
Association, such as the "Life of Sir George Williams" or the 
"Life of Robert R. McBurney," that he may begin to construct 
an Association background. 

7. Introductions 

The new secretary should be taken to call upon certain offi- 
cers and directors of the Association and committeemen with 
whom he is likely to have early contact, and a definite beginning 
should thus be made in the securing of that valuable secretarial 
asset, a wide acquaintance. These calls dignify both the As- 
sociation and the new secretary and add somewhat to the sense 
of importance of the director or committeeman called upon. 

8. Vocabulary 

The corporation referred to above has found it advisable to 
instruct its newcomers in the vocabulary of the business. The 
Association vocabulary is not extensive, and there are not a 
large number of words with the use of which the new man 
needs to be at once made acquainted. However, a little effort 
along this line will be worth while. 

p. Conferences 

These first few days should include conferences with the 
different executive officers of the Association, the physical 
director and the boys' work secretary for instance, in which 
each of these men has an opportunity to tell the newcomer a 
little about the work of his department. These friendly talks 
with the other secretaries also lay a basis for future cooperation. 



240 TRAINING A STAFF 

10. Evenings 

The evening hours might well be employed in visiting the 
different parts of the building and observing the classes, meet- 
ings, and other groups in operation. The period around the 
supper hour could well be spent in the lobby and occupied with 
informal introductions to incoming members. 

ii. Sunday 

The first Sunday morning should be the occasion of attending 
the church and Sunday school which the secretary will be most 
likely to choose as his church home. Here introductions are 
also in place — the pastor, superintendent of the Sunday school, 
and certain young people being met in this way. 

12. Results 

Where this sort of care is given to the introduction of the 
new man on the staff, the first few days will be a period of 
pleasure and interest instead of disappointment and gloom. 
The Association and its officers will gain the high regard of the 
new man, his loyalty will be won, and all the benefits of a good 
start secured. 

One turns back to college days and remembers what a great 
impression an older student made upon a lonely Freshman 
when this man took occasion to take him to the registrar's office, 
get him properly entered, show him to his room, and introduce 
him about a little bit. While subsequent years in college re- 
vealed the fact that this older man was just a plain ordinary 
fellow, the memory of his kindness during the early days made 
him remain a hero and a gentleman in the eyes of the younger 
student. 

The general secretary, by giving proper attention to the 
reception and introduction of the young men coming to his 
staff, can gain their loyalty and affection in just this same way. 
And the young men will write back to their college friends and 
report that they have entered the greatest vocation on earth, 
found the ideal "chief," and become connected with a wonder- 
ful institution. 



PART II 

REASONS 

The theories underlying the processes 



PART II 

REASONS 

Analysis 

Introduction: The Place of Theory 
I. The Aim or End of Education 

1. Education as growth 

2. Its aim as social efficiency 

3. Resulting values 

4. Intellect, character, skill 

5. Education is never finished 

II. The Center of Education 

III. The Nature of Subject-Matter 

1. The modern theory 

2. The application of the theory 

IV. Psychological vs. Logical 
V. Motive 

VI. The Thought Process 
VII. Training in the Work Environment 

1. The general theory 

2. Bring the school into the shop 

3. The horse and cart figure 

4. Doing and learning 

5. Swimming and water 

VIII. The Group 

IX. The Secretary's Function as Trainer 

1. Preserving the heritage 

2. A normal duty 

3. Improvement 

4. Formulation of the experience 

Introduction: The Place of Theory 
"Neither theory without practice nor practice without theory 

243 



244 TRAINING A STAFF 

avails at all," said Protagoras some four hundred years before 
Christ, quoted by President E. C. Moore, who adds, "Without 
theory, practice must be a blind doing of what somebody else — 
tradition, authority, or accident — had directed." The preced- 
ing chapters are an attempt to work out a training program for 
a local Association, based on sound educational theory, and 
consistent within itself. That for those who use the program 
it may not be a "blind doing," the theories upon which it rests 
are here discussed. As a rule, theory is more interesting when 
its statement follows a presentation of practice than when it 
precedes it; so this chapter on the reasons for the foregoing 
methods is placed thus late in the book. Those who do not 
care for theory are warned to skip it. They will be no worse 
off. The thoughtful are likely to find something in it worth 
while, for it is an attempt to state some of the modern educa- 
tional and psychological ideas that are guiding the best school 
practice of the day, choosing such as have a bearing upon the 
task of training Y M C A secretaries both in local Associations 
and anywhere else. In general, the point of view is that of 
Dr. John Dewey, than whom there is no greater educator, from 
whose thinking most of the advanced ideas in education have 
sprung, and at whose torch many of the lesser lamps in educa- 
tion have been lighted. 

In 1896 Dr. Dewey started the University Elementary School 
in Chicago ; in that connection he asked himself four questions. 
His present-day theories to some extent grew out of his experi- 
menting and experience in finding their answer. These are the 
questions. 

1. What can be done, and how can it be done, to bring the 
school into closer relation with real life? 

2. What can be done in the way of using subject-matter that 
shall have a positive value and real significance in the child's 
own life, that shall represent something worthy of attainment 
in skill and knowledge? 

3. How can the school create motive for the study of the 
formal subjects? 

4. How can individual attention to the intellectual needs and 



REASONS 245 

attainments and physical well-being and growth of each child 
be secured? 

These same questions arise in our mind in connection with 
the task of training men for the Association secretaryship. Dr. 
Dewey's efforts to answer them led him into highly productive 
lines of practical thinking and experimentation. His con- 
clusions worked out for general education apply with even 
greater force to vocational education ; they have largely guided 
the work back of this book. 

When the task of training secretaries was taken up by the 
author in his local Association, the need of a sound theoretical 
basis was felt. The following pages are the views held after 
eight years of search and testing, reading, experimenting, and 
interviewing, and it is believed that the practice in secretarial 
training — local, collegiate, or summer school — must square 
with these theories. 

I. The Aim or End of Education 
1. Education as Growth 

Education is frequently and erroneously thought of as a 
preparation for the future. It is this conception that results 
in the use of courses of study that make no present appeal to 
students, the practical value of which they fail to see, and in 
which they consequently take little or no interest. Therefore 
interest, the vital essential to motive in the learning process, is 
missing. There is no fire under the boiler and the engine does 
not run. 

The theory of education as preparation thus breaks down at 
the very start. Realization of this sent educators on a search 
for a more correct view, and a new conception now holds the 
field. It is the idea that education is growth, "growth in con- 
structive power of achievement" ; not a preparation for the 
future, but full and fruitful living in the present day. This 
efficient living in the present, the full realizing of present 
possibilities, is in itself interesting, worthy, and the best 
preparation for the future. Education is not a getting ready 



246 TRAINING A STAFF 

for something, but a something itself, a period and a process 
having its own present worth. 

Only to the extent that the educative process deals with the 
problems of a real and significant present can it be in any true 
sense a preparation for solving the problems of a future day. 
The best way to get ready to meet the needs of a coming day 
is to grow in ability by meeting the needs of each day efficiently 
as it arrives. Where this theory is applied, students do not 
have to be told they will some day need this or that and should 
therefore study it carefully ; the work of each day has its own 
interest. 

Now growth is not something that a teacher does to a 
student; it is something the student does himself. It is an 
active process, not a passive one; hence the emphasis on the 
fact that the student must actively participate in the process, 
the growing use of projects, and the decrease in lecturing. 

2. Its Aim as Social Efficiency 

This is achieved "by positive use of native individual capaci- 
ties in occupations having a social meaning." (Quotations not 
otherwise credited are from John Dewey's "Democracy and 
Education.") 

The word "occupations" means one thing as applied to a 
child of ten and another toa'YMCA secretary of twenty-two, 
but its nature is the same for people of all ages and vocations, 
something having "a social meaning," part of useful life, and 
useful in a not too utilitarian sense. This social efficiency is the 
"cultivation of power to join freely and fully in shared or com- 
mon activities," growing skill at working with others in the 
work of the world. Included in this efficiency will be certain 
habits, skills, knowledges, ideals, and attitudes, and the best 
contents of culture. 

The social efficiency of an Association secretary consists in 
his being able to interpret the meaning of his day, to enter 
sympathetically into its best life, to understand the needs of his 
contemporaries, and to apply the technique of the Association 
in such a way as to meet these needs, thus helping to bring in 



REASONS 247 

the Kingdom of God. To be socially efficient means far more 
than ability to do well that long list of things enumerated in 
Chapter I, more than skill in running the machinery of the 
Association. The connotation of social efficiency is something 
far higher than any mechanical perfection of operation. It 
implies, as an educational ideal, the use of means and processes 
for the securing of spiritual and social ends ; it implies the per- 
sonal embodiment on the part of the secretary of the ideals of 
Jesus, the most socially efficient of all persons. Social efficiency 
in the secretaryship means ability to unite with other men of 
good purpose in getting done with least waste and friction those 
large tasks that need to be accomplished in order to establish 
justice and opportunity as each man's portion, and to make 
life happy, interesting, and fruitful for all men. 

3. Resulting Values 

School life (or the educative process) should contribute the 
following five kinds of experience. 

"a. Executive competency in the management of resources 
and obstacles encountered (efficiency). 

"b. Sociability, or interest in the direct companionship of 
others. 

"c. Esthetic taste, or capacity to appreciate artistic excel- 
lence in at least some of its classic forms. 

"d. Trained intellectual method, or interest in some mode of 
scientific achievement. 

"e. Sensitiveness to the rights and claims of others — con- 
scientiousness." 

These are characterized as "useful criteria for survey, criti- 
cism, and better organization of existing methods and subject- 
matter of instruction." To what extent do they apply to the 
process of training Y M C A secretaries? Would you be will- 
ing to discard any of them as not being within our purpose ? 

4. Intellect, Character, Skill 

"It is customary to include under education," says Professor 
Thorndike in "Education," "the changes in intellect, character, 



248 TRAINING A STAFF 

and skill." The aims of our educative process will include 
these three. A scheme that fails to make provision for all three 
of them is inadequate. Our training program must seek to 
give full and balanced attention to growth in intellectual power, 
growth in character, and growth in professional skill. 

5. Education Is Never Finished 

It is a "continuous reconstruction of experience," a process 
never completed, always going on where there is intellectual 
life. The methods of the educative process must "create a 
desire for continued growth, and supply means for making the 
desire effective in fact." "The aim of education is to enable 
individuals to continue their education." 

II. The Center of Education 

"In a recitation where there are three factors — pupils, text- 
book, and teacher — the emphasis may be placed upon any one 
of the three," says Professor W. W. Charters. "If the em- 
phasis is placed upon the teacher, and the text and pupils are 
minimized, we have what is called the lecture method. Most of 
what the lecturer gives is not understood by the pupils, nor is 
any need for it felt. If the emphasis is placed on the textbook 
while the teacher and the pupils follow it, we have the textbook 
method of teaching. The teacher considers his whole business 
to consist in seeing if the pupils remember the facts in the 
lesson. If the emphasis is placed upon the pupil, and the text- 
book and teacher are viewed as instruments in the proper func- 
tioning of his activity, we have the developing method." 

This is the better emphasis. The pupil is the important fac- 
tor in education. He is made neither for listening nor for re- 
citing, but for action, and the direction of his activity is the 
real work of the teacher. The student and his activity in the 
school are the things of chief importance. What goes on in his 
mind is the school's chief concern. The student must be active, 
not passive, a searcher, not a receiver. When the student and 
his activity are treated as the center of education, he is no 
longer thought of as clay to be modeled or as a bowl to be 



REASONS 249 

filled. He must do his own filling, if filling be done at all ; and 
if there be any modeling, it will take place only as he holds him- 
self against the modeling influences of life experiences. 

This idea, if accepted, produces revolutionary changes in 
teaching method. It implies discussion, self-activity, personal 
study, problems, and projects. But no leading educator today 
holds any other idea than that the student is the center of 
education and the most important item in the school catalog. 

III. The Nature of Subject-Matter 
1. The Modern Theory 

The proper subject-matter in this conception of education is 
life experience. The unit is a task, a project, a problem, and 
all the organized material usually classed as subjects is drawn 
upon — now some of this, now some of that, just as it is needed 
to help meet some real situation. This is the way it is used in 
actual grown-up and professional life, and this is the way in 
which it is best acquired. The very best schools in America 
are working on this theory, and as it becomes better known and 
more widely understood it will be the method of all good 
schools. There should be no difference between the method 
and content of life and the method and content of the cur- 
riculum. The way it is used should be the way it is acquired. 

In such a school, the course of study consists of genuine 
situations in which something needs to be done, or accom- 
plished, some real thing, and the subject-matter is whatever is 
needed to accomplish that end. This leads to the student's 
hunting for and finding portions of knowledge he wishes to 
use, and thereby gaining experience and skill in the very proc- 
ess of life itself. Only that is taught which is of immediate 
importance to the student as he sees it. Subject-matter, 
whether it be history, arithmetic, physics, geography, or what 
not, becomes under such circumstances "a way of acting in the 
attempt to satisfy needs, solve problems, remove dissatisfac- 
tions, and overcome difficulties," as Professor Charters puts it. 
The order in which it is introduced or taken up is the order 
of the student's need, not a textbook order. 



250 TRAINING A STAFF 

"Study is effective in the degree in which the pupil realizes 
the place of the numerical truth he is dealing with in carrying 
to fruition activities in which he is concerned." Therefore, as 
Professor Branom puts it, "the long-recognized divisions 
among subjects should fade away, and the worth-while ma- 
terial should be organized about actual situations and prob- 
lems." Professor Kilpatrick is of the same opinion, holding 
that the unit of instruction is the problem, or "the purposeful 
act" or project. He gives three considerations reenforcing this 
view: 

(i) "The purposeful act is a typical unit of the worthy life." 

(2) The project as the unit of instruction gives education 
the quality of real life, and not the unreal and future value of 
preparation for life. Education is life. 

(3) It makes for character. Purposes and their furthering, 
the choosing of purposes, responding to them, initiating them, 
bearing the responsibility for them — these things build man- 
hood. "The purposeful act under wise guidance amid a social 
environment makes for the building of exactly that strong and 
resourceful moral character which democracy so much needs." 

He classifies the purposeful acts that constitute projects with 
educational value under four heads: (1) A constructive proj- 
ect; (2) an esthetic project (to enjoy); (3) an intellectual 
project (to understand); (4) a skill project (to acquire). 

The steps in a constructive project, the project at its best, 
Professor Kilpatrick considers to be, first, purposing; second, 
planning; third, executing; and last, judging; each one of these 
steps having the highest value when it is self-motivated and 
proposed. 

2. The Application of the Theory 

a. The project method 

Thus a consideration of subject-matter leads at once 
into the very heart of problem and project teaching. The 
progress of thought is something like this. Students 
have but little interest in the unrelated facts of textbooks. 
These facts, however, can assume both life and meaning when 



REASONS 251 

they enter into thinking in connection with solving some prob- 
lem. Problems are most real when they are encountered in 
attempting to carry some piece of real work to completion, a 
piece of work of genuine interest to the student. The project 
is such a task, a purposeful act, "carried to completion in its 
natural setting," in the words of Dr. J. A. Stevenson of the 
University of Illinois. 

This idea of doing something instead of just studying some- 
thing provides that essential element in education designated as 
"the motor consequences" of an impression. On this subject 
Professor Thorndike says : 

"The traditions of education are one-sided in their neglect 
of the motor consequences of thought. Education must not 
assume that with the existence of knowledge its work is done. 
It must test its influence by the increased power to express and 
use knowledge. Education must arouse, control, and improve 
motor as well as mental responses. The expression of 
knowledge is the only sure sign of its possession, and one of 
the best means of its increase." 

Some words of President Eliot also have a bearing here. 
He says: 

"As I have seen more and more of education during my pro- 
fessional career, I have come more and more firmly to the con- 
clusion that the most effective kind of education is obtained at 
every stage not by listening or reading, but by observing, com- 
paring, and doing. The very best kind of education is obtained 
in doing things one's self, under competent direction and with 
good guidance." 

b. Educational values in the project method 
Some of the gains resulting from the use of projects as units 
of instruction are, in a composite summary of a number of 
writers: (1) Correct procedure in thinking and in working 
out problems; (2) the possibility of participation, education 
through experience; (3) purposeful thinking; (4) initiative; 
(5) self-direction, self-reliance, and independence; (6) motive 
for real work and study; (7) exercise of judgment; (8) exer- 
cise of capacity for organization of ideas and of materials; 
(9) experience in cooperation, in team projects; (10) personal 



252 TRAINING A STAFF 

satisfaction; (n) release of creative instincts; (12) provision 
for individual differences. 

c. The approach to subject-matter 

The project approach to subject-matter is through a practical 
application; the situation demanding its use arises, and the 
knowledge of a principle or fact is sought in order to meet the 
present requirement. This is just the reverse of studying a 
principle and then hunting an application. C. R. Mann says: 
"A strong desire to study an elementary principle is excited by 
bringing the student's labors to a point where he perceives the 
necessity for it, and its direct application to a useful purpose." 

d. An objection considered 

One fear expressed in regard to project teaching is that the 
number of things, facts, taught is so much fewer that impor- 
tant facts are left out. The answer is twofold. First, that 
those things that are learned in this way stay learned; and 
second, that if the student, through project teaching, is taught 
to observe, state his problems, locate his difficulties, use books 
of reference, organize his facts and data, and apply his 
knowledge so as to solve problems and attack complex situa- 
tions, the educative process has fully served its purpose, cre- 
ated a man well able to do, given him "power equal to his 
needs as they confront him in life." To avoid possible de- 
ficiency here the teacher will choose a wide range of projects 
and see that they include all the essential facts, theories, prin- 
ciples, and processes, and modify his list or curriculum from 
year to year as he sees ways of improving it. 

There is, however, a valid objection to an incompleteness in 
project teaching, in that it fails to give a systematic view of 
subject-matter. This can be met by providing periods in which 
the results of learning are checked against a systematic outline 
of a subject, and the status of one's progress revealed, his 
deficiencies discovered, and the relations of his acquisitions 
brought out. 

IV. Psychological vs. Logical 

The growth of any science or body of knowledge proceeds 



REASONS 253 

piecemeal. A little is added here and a little there. Then the 
thinkers in that realm begin to organize the matter available and 
eventually a logical arrangement of the parts is secured, based 
on some definite plan. This logical arrangement or organiza- 
tion of knowledge, the climax of learning in that sphere, is then 
taken by teachers and used as the beginning of their work in 
imparting this knowledge to others. History, arithmetic, 
science, geography, and all other subjects, even down to car- 
pentry, are arranged thus and taught according to a carefully 
arranged scheme or outline. This is called the logical method 
of presentation. 

Investigations of the learning process have led educators to 
the conclusion that this logical method of presentation is not the 
best for the learner. They have concluded that he must, in his 
introduction to a sphere of learning, and his growth in it, fol- 
low the same method as that by which the body of learning 
was first built up, and then later put his knowledge into some 
organized form, as was done by the scholars, getting his out- 
lines or analysis at the end, not at the beginning of the learning 
process. This more natural method of presentation is called 
the psychological method ; it is being increasingly accepted. 

On this plan, the units of instruction come in the order of 
the student's needs in some real life situation, and not in the 
order of a scientific and logical analysis. The theory is that the 
path of the beginner must be the path of the master, though 
he is saved many of the missteps of the pioneer and the proc- 
ess is much shortened. It is believed that it is most profitable 
to take the path followed in producing the subject-matter in the 
first place, and not the logical arrangement it takes on later in 
the hands of the finished scholar. 

This seems a strange thing, but it is a conclusion based on 
long study and experiment growing out of dissatisfaction with 
the results of the old method. It results in more and better 
thinking on the part of the student. A discussion of this point 
of view will be found in many of the more recent textbooks on 
education. The methods presented in the first fifteen chapters 
of this book are an attempt to apply the psychological principle 



254 TRAINING A STAFF 

in the organization of subject-matter. The logical conception 
of subject-matter is that it is something one must learn in 
order to be considered educated. The psychological conception 
is that subject-matter is something that helps solve problems, 
and it should be introduced just when and in such quantities 
and in such order as is required by that necessity. Each class 
and each teacher will follow a different order. The logical 
summary or arrangement will come later on, as the student 
organizes what he has learned. Far from being hit or miss, the 
method scores more hits than any other. The weakness of the 
logical method of organization is seen when we reflect that it 
starts the beginner where the scholar finished. Not so does the 
mind work. "The pupil should work toward an outline and 
not from one," is Professor Branom's terse statement of the 
situation. 

V. Motive 

Motive is that which leads one to do something. In educa- 
tion the something that is desired is thought and action. Many 
educational processes fail to secure these desired results. The 
creation of motive is a live issue with teachers, since motive, 
based on real interest, is the steam that makes the engine go, 
the current that runs the motor. 

There are various forms of motive, most of which can be 
used in education. Many of them are based on such instincts 
as imitation, play, collecting, construction, rivalry, migrating, 
sympathy, pride, fear, anger, and curiosity. It will be seen 
that with few exceptions these instincts, which reside in all 
persons in greater or less strength, can be directed to the end 
of study. "In particular," says Professor Charters, "in pres- 
ent-day school work, appeal is made to five: curiosity, imita- 
tion, play, constructiveness, and cooperation." He later adds 
"rivalry, sympathy, fear, and love of approbation." After deal- 
ing with these instincts as motives in education, Professor 
Charters, writing in 1912, states that since about 1910 "the 
problem" has come into prominence as a potent form of motiva- 
tion. Since that date this theory of motive has held the field 



REASONS 255 

against all comers, and teaching today regards the problem 
growing out of need as the great secret of interesting the pupil 
in study. It stimulates both thought and action, is more re- 
liable than an attempt to appeal to any one instinct, more con- 
tinuous and permanent in its operation, more ethical than such 
instincts as pride and fear, and more worthy than imitation, 
curiosity, sympathy, or collecting. 

The theory of the problem as motive set aside the old idea of 
studying a thing because of its supposed value as discipline, an 
abandoned psychological fallacy, and sets up the new ideal of 
studying a unit because it will help in the accomplishment of 
some worth-while end. It presents the allurement of present 
achievement instead of a dismal grind for future uncertain vir- 
tues, with all the power of incentive that resides in an im- 
mediate certainty as against a future guess. The beauty of it 
is that it takes care of both the present and the future, by tak- 
ing efficient care of the present. To use one of Dewey's com- 
parisons, studies on this theory are not gymnastic appliances 
for the mind but conditions for the attainment of ends. This 
theory of motive and interest is one of the considerations in 
favor of problem and project teaching, and its operation is pro- 
vided for in the processes presented in our first fifteen chapters. 

VI. The Thought Process 

This has already been rather fully dealt with in Chapters III 
and VI. The analysis of the operations of the mind in 
accurate thinking proceeding from problem to solution fur- 
nishes a basis for all kinds of educational operations, private 
study, group study, research, class-room work, interviewing, 
and all other situations in which there is a problem to solve, 
which includes much of life. It is one of the fundamental 
theories in harmony with which this book has endeavored to 
proceed. 

VII. Training in the Work Environment 
1. The General Theory 

As long ago as 1853, Jonathan B. Turner in his campaign to 



256 TRAINING A STAFF 

establish an industrial university in Illiniois stated this funda- 
mental truth about vocational education: "The most natural 
and effectual mental discipline possible for any man arises from 
setting him to earnest and constant thought about the things 
he daily does, sees, and handles, and all their connected rela- 
tions and interests." Prof. Charles R. Mann, one of the high- 
est American authorities on vocational education, quotes this 
in a recent government bulletin and then continues: "The 
realization of this principle in school work requires first that 
the student be kept in constant touch with practical industrial 
work, and second, that his work be used as the source of the 
problems he solves in the class room and laboratory. Every 
student should therefore take an active part in productive 
work." 

These conditions can be fulfilled only where the students are 
actually employed as regular secretaries at work in a progres- 
sive Association. The training center fulfils the central con- 
ditions ; the training college must be reorganized so as to meet 
them also. This is the tendency in engineering education. It 
is the long-established method of hospital and clinical experi- 
ence in medical education. 

2. Bring the School into the Shop 

The correctness of this method of training in the work en- 
vironment has been summed up by Mr. Charles Gingrich, M.E., 
of Cincinnati, in the following sentence : "The chief criticisms 
of modern technical education result from the fact that we try 
to take the shop into the school, whereas we should bring the 
school into the shop." 

Professor Metcalf, formerly of Tufts College, expresses the 
idea when he says : "There is no place in the world where so 
many and such fine opportunities to educate and train people 
exist as in the work environment." 

"Fortunately," says Dean Schneider, "we are beginning to 
realize that our carefully designed mechanisms for production 
. . . are in the truest sense laboratories, whose educational 
worth it were folly to ignore longer." 



REASONS 257 

The past few years have witnessed long steps forward in the 
realization of the value of the local Association as a place in 
which to train men for Association work. A strong feature of 
this system is the fact that the student works under conditions 
of actual production. He is studying and working and living, 
as a student, in the same environment and under the same 
conditions that will obtain when he has finished his training 
period and become a full secretary. 

Many other educators see things in this same way. Prof. 
E. C. Moore says, in ''What Is Education ?" : "The school 
must become a workshop in which students work at definite 
tasks, and by their own efforts under the master's eye learn to 
use the great tools with which the race has by the same process 
learned to do its work." Just substitute "Association" for 
"race" and the statement is immediately applicable to our work. 

j. The "Horse and Cart" Figure 

Dr. Dewey states the situation in a quaint way: "We need 
to hitch the horse of concrete experience with the daily occupa- 
tion, to a cart loaded with specialized scientific knowledge." 
The Association without organized problem classes and project 
work educationally organized is not a training center; it is all 
horse. The school without real experience in the work environ- 
ment is not a training college; it is all cart. The college in 
which the students are all doing real Association work and the 
training center with class work are both educationally sound; 
the cart and horse are hitched together. The teacher's chief 
function is not to drive, but to hitch the cart to the horse, to 
see that experience and science proceed together, the horse (ex- 
perience) going before the cart (science), but never separated 
from it. The two proceed together, each in its most efficient 
relation. This horse and cart figure is a stimulating suggestion 
and leads to a number of fruitful corollaries which we will not 
now pause to develop. 

4. Doing and Learning 

Prof. Franklin Bobbitt of Chicago University, in his book 
"The Curriculum," says: 



258 TRAINING A STAFF 

"Each occupation is to be seen and vitally understood as 
a group of men at work. One learns the labors of a group by 
entering into their labors ; by performing them actually ; by per- 
forming them in play; by entering into them sympathetically 
through observation; by imaginative participation as they are 
reconstructed in well-written history, geography, literature, 
biography, etc. It is not by learning abstract verbal facts about 
a group, but rather by doing in one way or another what the 
group does that one comes really to understand it. The doing 
lays the interest-basis necessary for fact-accumulation and as- 
similation; and for right valuations and attitudes. Education 
must proceed by the active route, not because we are aiming at 
fewer facts than formerly but because we must aim at far 
more ; and must therefore employ effective methods. 

"It is by putting the workers to work, and by noticing the 
kinds of shortcomings and mistakes that show themselves 
where training is absent or deficient that we can discover the 
curriculum of tasks for directed vocational education." 

In this working together and building the curriculum in the 
work, the teacher, Professor Bobbitt says, would ask, "What 
do they do? What knowledge do they use in planning and 
performing work? At what kinds of judgments must they ar- 
rive? What types of problems do they have to solve? What 
habits and skill are demanded by their tasks? What are the 
attitudes of mind, appreciations, valuations, ambitions, and 
desires which motivate and exercise general control?" 

All these questions are best answered as teacher and student 
meet any day, not in academic class rooms, but in actual activi- 
ties in a real Association doing productive work, where, as Mr. 
C. R. Dooley, Educational Director for Vocational Instruction 
in the Army, put it, "The accomplishment of a job is both the 
end to be attained and the means for instruction." 

This social view of the curriculum makes it, in the words of 
Professor Coe, "a course of living, not a course in supposed 
preliminaries to real life." 

5. Swimming and Water 

The figure of learning to swim reveals in a striking way the 
importance of experience and study in the work environment. 



REASONS 259 

Training apart from actual Association experience has about 
the same relation to success in the vocation that arm and leg 
exercises on a gymnasium floor have to skill in the water, and 
no more. There is no learning to swim except in water ; there 
is no learning to run an Association except by actual experience 
in one. After a certain amount of experience the learners can 
1 go apart and discuss their problems, but education must begin 
with and return to participation in real activities. From this 
fact we proceed to clear vision of the value of the training 
center, of the place of the summer school, and of the proper 
curriculum basis for an Association college. 

Otherwise, instead of experience the student gets words ; in- 
stead of things he gets symbols of things; instead of reality he 
gets sounds. The whole content of his supposed education 
proves later to be illusory and false. To know about is not to 
be able to make. One learns to make only by making. The 
process of education consists chiefly in supplying an environ- 
ment, and in securing and guiding responses to it. Only the 
environment itself can produce the appropriate responses. The 
positive aspect of the situation is stated in terms of a fourfold 
gain. "By doing his share in the associated activity the in- 
dividual appropriates the purpose which actuates it, becomes 
familiar with its methods and subject matter, acquires needed 
skill, and is saturated with its emotional spirit." 

The officer in charge of the training of young college gradu- 
ates in locomotive building was asked what he considered the 
advantages of training the men right there in the Baldwin 
shops. After naming several, he finally added, "They live in 
the atmosphere of making locomotives." 

Perhaps the best statement of the reason for using the work 
itself as the place for training is contained in the observation 
that "the normal estate of effective learning is that knowledge 
getting should be an outgrowth of activities having their own 
end, instead of a school task. The positive principle is main- 
tained when the young begin with active occupations having a 
social origin and use, and proceed to a scientific insight in the 
materials and laws involved, through assimilating into their 



260 TRAINING A STAFF 

more direct experience the ideas and facts communicated by 
others who have had a larger experience." 

It cannot be too earnestly emphasized, however, that these 
great educational values, while resident in the work environ- 
ment, are not realized unless real and definite efforts are made 
to see that they shall be realized. Without a clear-cut program 
involving such processes as are described in Chapters I to XV, 
the local Association is in no sense a training center. There is 
much gold in this mine, but the mine must be worked to get it. 

VIII. The Group 

Underlying some of the processes presented here is a feeling 
or theory that in many instances the product of group thought 
is superior to that of any of the individuals composing the 
group. This is especially true when a problem is up for solu- 
tion and the efforts of several minds, seeing the problem from 
a variety of angles and possessed of different data, are brought 
to bear upon it. The values that are thought to reside in the 
group discussion are these: 

1. It is democratic: The autocrat meets the group and tells 
his plan; perhaps they modify it and decide upon procedure. 
It is not their plan and they do not feel committed to it. The 
group discussion of a problem, however, where each makes a 
contribution and a plan grows up in their midst which all have 
helped to form is a democratic process, and in harmony with 
the tenor of the day. 

2. It enlists the efforts of all the group: Having had a part 
in making the plan or in reaching the decision, the efforts of 
each man are enlisted in the resulting enterprise. It is his, as 
truly as it. is anybody's, and he cares for his own child. 

j. All are carried along: Having faced the original prob- 
lem, heard all the facts bearing upon it, weighed all the argu- 
ments pro and con, each man fully understands and sym- 
pathizes with the final decision, or at least knows its basis. 
They have at least been consulted from the very first and are 
satisfied. 

4. The group opinion is different from and superior to that 



REASONS 261 

of anyone entering it: The stimulation of each other's pres- 
ence and ideas produces a quickening of the faculties and a 
modifying of thought that issue in a social conclusion which 
would not have been reached by anyone alone, and, having been 
subjected to more checks and balances, is more likely to prove 
to be wise. 

Any plan of reaching decisions that is democratic, that en- 
lists the best efforts of the group in making the decision ef- 
fective, that carries along even those who do not fully agree, 
and that results in superior conclusions has a place in Associa- 
tion theory and practice. 

IX. The Secretary's Function as Trainer 
1. Preserving the Heritage 

In the opening chapter of "Democracy and Education," Dr. 
Dewey develops the idea that education is the means whereby 
a society secures the continuance of its social and intellectual 
heritage and life. When this broader idea is applied to the 
Association and its professional leadership, one is filled with 
the sense of the responsibility resting upon the older secretaries 
in our movement to pass on to the younger men all that their 
years of experience have accumulated. Borrowing the idea and 
using many of the words of that first chapter, there is, on the 
one hand the contrast between the immature newly elected 
members of the secretarial group, its future sole representa- 
tives, and the majority of the older members who possess the 
knowledge and customs of the group. On the other hand, 
there is the necessity that these immature members be initiated 
into the interests, purposes, information, skill, and practices 
of the mature members; otherwise the group will cease its 
characteristic life. With the growth of the content of the sec- 
retaryship the gap between the older secretary and the be- 
ginner widens, so far as preparation for efficient service in the 
Association is concerned. 

"Education and education alone spans the gap." A great 
burden of responsibility rests upon every man of experience to 
pass on this professional heritage; it must not die with him. 



262 TRAINING A STAFF 

"Society exists through a process of transmissions quite as 
much as biological life." This transmission occurs by means 
of communication of habits of doing, thinking, and feeling 
from the older to the younger. "Without this communication 
of ideals, hopes, expectations, standards, opinions, from those 
members of society who are passing out of the group life to 
those who are coming into it, social life could not survive." 
Nor can the Association. Here is material for thought for our 
serious-minded secretaries who are too busy to train their 
juniors. Have you provided adequate processes for this com- 
munication? These pages hope to be a means to the securing 
of that end. The colleges will do part of the work, but the 
vocation will long continue itself chiefly through local training. 
The conviction of the importance of this local training is grow- 
ing, as witness the five hundred secretaries in training-center 
classes during 1919-1920. But this number, though large, 
represents only thirty-six Associations. What of the hundreds 
of others? 

2. A Normal Duty 

This training process, instead of being a thing apart, some- 
thing nice to do when not too busy, is not only essential to the 
continued life of the group, but it is a normal part of its very 
present, its daily duty. It is the chief means to "likeminded- 
ness," the very basis of associated life. The training process, 
more than any other instrumentality, promotes and guarantees 
full mutual understanding, community of interest, and har- 
mony of procedure. It reduces friction, eliminates misunder- 
standings, furthers democracy, produces the best working re- 
sults, and "effects a sharing of purpose" essential to progress 
and joy in work. Therefore, far from being something added 
to a general secretary's duties, the duty of training his staff is 
a veritable part of the secretarial task itself, a part of his 
regular work. 

j. Improvement 
However, there must be more than a mere passing on of 



REASONS 263 

present method and achievement. Improvement must be se- 
cured, which requires that the training process make due pro- 
vision for elasticity in that which is taught, and for thought, 
initiative, and invention on the part of the student. Training 
and education, while conservative, must also be progressive. 
This stimulation of productive thinking with its consequent 
enlargement of the content of the vocation is part of the 
privilege of the older secretary in the training relation. Pro- 
gressive secretaries "endeavor to shape the experiences of the 
young so that instead of reproducing current habits, better 
habits shall be formed," and thus the future secretary be an 
improvement on themselves. 

4. Formulation of the Experience 

This living the secretaryship together and passing it on to the 
younger members of the group requires careful study of the 
vocation by the general secretary — a study, by the way, greatly 
to his own profit as well as to that of his juniors. He must 
"reflect upon his past experience to extract its net meaning," a 
most profitable occupation. He must, in order to pass it on, 
first analyze it and put it into communicable shape. "The ex- 
perience has to be formulated in order to be communicated." 

The formulation and communication of the secretarial ex- 
perience seem to involve the following steps and acquisitions 
on the part of the general secretary. It is great gain to him 
that he should take the steps and seek the acquisitions: 

a. An analysis of his art into its elements, with a listing of 
his knowledges, skills, habits, attitudes, and ideals. 

b. A consideration of how he himself learned or acquired 
the vocation. 

c. A consideration of the method of solving problems, apart 
from the solutions. 

d. An arranging of the elements of the vocation into some 
pedagogical sequence or order of instruction, psychological 
rather than logical. 

e. Study as to how to plan and teach a lesson. 

f. Thought on giving educational value to experience. 



264 TRAINING A STAFF 

g. A learning of coaching as an educational process. 

h. Study of how to develop, not repress, untrained power in 
his juniors. 

i. A democratic philosophy of life. 

j. Unselfishness. 

The matter may be put briefly by saying that the secretary- 
ship has for some years been taking the direction of promotion 
and salesmanship. To fulfil the mission of transmission, the 
bringing up of a new generation of secretaries, it must take 
the direction of education. The secretary of the present is 
strong on production ; the secretary of the future must be strong 
on instruction. He has mastered the method of developing 
movements; he must master the method of developing men, 
and that is fundamentally a method of education; in it lies the 
secret of the largest and most permanent development of the 
movement. The new Association day awaits this new 
secretary. 

References 

Section I. Democracy and Education. John Dewey. Pp. 49- 
93, 1 17-145, 271-292. 

Section II. Methods of Teaching. W. W. Charters. Pp. 268- 
270. 

Section III. Methods of Teaching. W. W. Charters. Pp. 26- 
92, 112. 
Democracy and Education. John Dewey. 
Pp. 212-227. 

Section IV. Methods of Teaching. W. W. Charters. Pp. 208- 

245. 
Democracy and Education. John Dewey. 

Pp. 256-261. 
How We Think. John Dewey. Pp. 56-67. 
Teaching by Projects. F. M. McMurry. P. 184. 
The Project Method in Education. 

M. E. Branom. Pp. 239-254. 

Section V. Methods of Teaching. W. W. Charters. Pp. 146- 
184. 
The Project Method in Education. 
M. E. Branom. P. 59. 



REASONS 



265 



Section VI. How We Think. John Dewey. Pp. 68-78. 
Democracy and Education. John Dewey. 

Pp. 169-177, 179-192. 
How to Study. Pp. 31-84, 135-160. 
Teaching Children to Study. L. B. Earhart. 

Section VII. What Is Education? E. C. Moore. Pp. 104-141, 
170-194. 
How We Think. John Dewey. Pp. 176-178. 
Democracy and Education. John Dewey. 
Pp. 12-27. 
Section VIII. 



Section IX. Democracy and Education, 
i-ii, 92. 



John Dewey. Pp. 



Note : One who wishes to read a full presentation of the modern 
educational point of view in connection with the working out of a 
concrete problem will follow with great interest the argument in 
Professor George Albert Coe's "A Social Theory of Religious 
Education," 1917. 



PART III 
THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 



PART III 
THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 

Analysis 

I. The Importance of an Analysis of the Content of the 
Secretaryship 

II. The Importance of Experiencing This Content While in 
Training 

III. The Scope of the Analysis Here Given 

IV. The Vocational Content of the Secretaryship 

1. Religious leadership 

2. The education of men and boys 

3. Social engineering 

4. Physical education and recreation 

5. Vocational guidance and placement 

6. Promotion 

7. Executive direction 

8. Business management 

9. Expertness in Association technique 

10. Hospitality 

11. Friendship 

12. Writing 

13. Public speaking 

14. Studying 

15. Representation 

I. The Importance of an Analysis of the Content of 
the Secretaryship 

This presentation of the training of an Association staff has 
proceeded upon the theory that the most helpful preparation 
for the secretaryship is the actual living of the secretaryship, 
and that this living of the secretaryship consists in entering 
fully into the experiences that make up the life of a secretary. 

269 



270 TRAINING A STAFF 

The man who is at home in these life situations, who knows 
what to do, why to do it, and to what end, and who so acts in 
each of them as to use the opportunities they present to secure 
the spiritual and social aims of the Association, is the man 
who has the desired results of training. To produce such a 
man the first step is a full analysis of the work or functions of 
the secretary, after which comes the actual participation in 
these characteristic acts of the vocation, with such coaching, 
supervision, discussion, reading, investigation, inspection, con- 
ference, study, and wider relations, as will aid in the growth 
of the man in training. 

An analysis of the sort suggested was begun in an introduc- 
tory way in Chapter I, when the question, "What does a secre- 
tary do?" was asked and partly answered. To arrive at a 
satisfactory conclusion as to the content of the secretaryship, 
however, a much more thorough study of the life situations of 
the secretary must be made. The following pages indicate one 
way of going at this. A study of this kind may be built up 
and elaborated in two ways: either by an analysis of the 
functions, of which fifteen are here suggested, until all that 
these functions imply has been thoroughly dissected out into 
its component life situations; or, by beginning at the other 
end of the task and grouping the details such as make up the 
column of life situations. That is, we can get a full picture 
either by breaking up the functions or by grouping the situa- 
tions, by employing either a process of analysis or a process of 
synthesis. 

When this study of content has been made, two other tasks 
present themselves: first, the devising of a scheme or system 
whereby the men to be trained shall experience these situations ; 
and second, decision as to what material can profitably be read 
and studied to throw light upon these tasks and aid in their 
performance. The complete analysis becomes the curriculum 
of activities for all men who would efficiently enter the secre- 
taryship either through the door of the Association college or 
through experience in a training center ; the related study also 
applies to both systems of training. The great tasks before the 



THE CONTEXT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 271 

training centers of this and other countries are the choosing and 
ordering of these experiences, their effective educational ad- 
ministration, and the faithful mastery of the material presented 
as helpful subject-matter. 

The following analysis is by no means complete. It merely 
suggests a method. It can best be elaborated by men in the 
local secretaryship, and will be different for various fields. The 
secretary who proceeds thus to build a curriculum of experi- 
ence and study will lift his training-center work to a high 
plane; without something of this sort, the work will be more 
or less haphazard. 

II. The Importance of Experiencing This Content 
While in Training 

By entering into these life situations one after another, and 
actually carrying the responsibilities involved in each, the 
student grows in at least three ways : 

1. He becomes aware of the problems of the secretaryship 
in a vivid but natural manner. He feels them. They come into 
his experience as facts demanding that something be done about 
them, and soon. They are not cold, inanimate things to be 
merely studied and remembered. They have both temperature 
and pressure. 

2. He knows their exact nature, with experimental — the only 
real — knowing. 

3. He acts, does something about and with the real ma- 
terials of life, does things that make a difference. In this he 
acquires ability to bring to bear data secured from various 
sources, goes in search of other data of a useful nature, and 
builds up his intellectual equipment around uses. 

Knowledge, using the word broadly, is of four degrees : 

1. The knowledge of existence. To know about a thing, 
that it exists. 

2. The knowledge of recognition. To know a thing well 
enough to recognize and identify it when seen or heard. 

3. The knowledge of description. To be able to describe it 
accurately. 



2.J2 TRAINING A STAFF 

4. The knowledge of construction. To be able to make it. 

It is this last sort of knowledge which we seek for our secre- 
taries-in-training. It comes only from experience. Any other 
sort of knowledge is academic and impractical from the voca- 
tional point of view. 

III. The Scope of the Analysis Here Given 

There is always present the possibility that one who con- 
siders this list of activities will think of the secretaryship as 
composed merely of a lot of things to do. This is only its 
middle section. On one side are the reasons for these tasks, 
and on the other their objective or goal, while through it all 
there runs a spirit and attitude that give each purpose and act 
its true value and character. • It cannot be too often said that 
this vocation is more than technique. The analysis that fol- 
lows is, therefore, incomplete in this respect also. The 
genuinely successful Association leader possesses a fourfold 
equipment : 

1. That which he is able to do: skill. 

2. That which he knows and understands : knowledge. 

3. That which he is: character. 

4. The way he looks at the things that make up life : attitude. 

Training, to be comprehensive, must make provision for all 
four of these elements. As a general thing, it will tend to be 
well conducted on the side of skill, or knowledge, and decrease 
in quality and quantity in producing character and attitude. 
Some of the important elements of character are found in all 
good men; others must be consciously cultivated. For this 
there is a place in the curriculum, aiming at such qualities as 
perseverance, faithfulness, and reliability. The same is true of 
attitude, but the development of a truly Christian attitude is no 
simple undertaking. The list of desirable traits of character 
and attitude is a long one, and the making of it will not be 
essayed here. 

The aim of this chapter is to examine our vocation on its 
professional, rather than on its personal, side. These few para- 



THE CONTEXT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 273 

graphs are written only for the purpose of calling attention to 
the fact that the chart which is given on pages 274-283 is an 
analysis of functions, and to state the equally great importance 
of the spiritual elements in the secretaryship. 



274 



TRAINING A STAFF 



IV. The Vocational Content of the Secretaryship 

The Functions of a 
Y M C A Secretary. 

I. Religious Leadership. 



An analysis of these functions. 
Life situations of the secretary. 



I. I. 



Securing knowledge of condi- 
tions, needs, and problems of 
individuals and of groups. 
2. The consideration of these 
data and of data bearing upon 
the solution of the problems. 

3. The planning of measures to 
solve these problems and 
meet these needs. 



4. The planning, promotion, and 

supervision of the religious 
education of men and boys, 
their growth in Christian 
character. 

5. Conducting Bible discussion 
groups. 

6. The recruiting of a force of 

volunteer and paid workers. 
The relating of men to tasks. 

7. The training of this force for 

their tasks. 

8. The inspiring and leading of 

these men and boys. 

9. Winning men to Christ 

through personal work. 

10. Cooperating with churches 
and other religious and social 
agencies. 

11. The world-wide extension of 

Christ's Kingdom. 

12. Productive thinking on re- 
ligious problems. 



THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 275 



Subject-matter that has a relation to successful work in these 
functions. 

I. 1. The process of gathering information, data. 
The survey method. 
Present-day social and religious problems. 

2. Religious and social organization, methods, and move- 

ments. Religious problems, and solutions tried. 
Scientific thought processes and method. 
Economic and industrial history. 

3. The purposes, plans, and methods of religious and social 

movements, including all sorts of welfare work. 
The religious spirit and ideals of the age. 
The approach through individuals, groups, and masses. 

4. The objective, educational processes, organization, and 

promotion methods of present-day religious work with 
men and boys. 

Educational aims and methods. 

The operation of the human mind, including the psy- 
chology of adolescence. 

5. Class-room methods. 

The Old and New Testaments. 

The pedagogy and practice of discussion. 

6. The art of leadership. Motives that move men. 
The selection of workers for various tasks. 

7. The problems of the educative process. 
Training methods. 

8. A study of human motives and responses. 
Inspirational elements in poetry, art, history, literature, 

and science. 

9. Men's needs and difficulties. 

The resources of the Christian religion, God, Christ, the 
Bible, etc., and their relation to man's needs. 

10. The origin and peculiarities of the chief denominations 

and societies. 
Courses of study, objectives, and methods of the Sunday 
school. 

11. The countries not yet evangelized. History of missions. 

Missionary principles and practice. Problems grow- 
ing out of the ideals, growth, and contacts of nations. 

12. The best modern thought on religious problems. 
The status of modern biblical criticism. 
Philosophy, to get "a set of pigeon-holes." 



276 



TRAINING A STAFF 



The Functions of a 
YMCA Secretary. 

II. The Education of 
Men and Boys, 
with Emphasis 
on Vocation. 



An analysis of these functions. 
Life situations of the secretary. 

II. 1. The study of men's and boys' 
vocational needs and of their 
educational needs in relation to 
a well-rounded life. 



III. Social Engineer- III. 
ing. 



2. The planning of courses of 
study. 

3. The promotion and super- 
vision of educational features, 
including class-work, clubs, 
lectures, reading room and 
library. 

1. The study of social conditions 
and problems to learn the 
social needs of the day. 

2. Participation and leadership in 
social welfare movements, 
charities and correction, re- 
construction work. 



3. Relation to the industrial prob- 
lem. 

4. Relation to other social 
agencies. 

5. Applying the teachings of 
Jesus to modern life. 

6. Constructive work to improve 
modern life. 

IV. Physical Educa- IV. 1. Giving men and boys a physical 
tion, and Rec- equipment equal to the de- 

reation. mands of life. 



V. Vocational Guid- 
a n c e, and 
Placement. 



2. Providing recreation for men 
and boys. 

V. 1. Advising men and boys con- 
cerning different vocations, 
and their adaptability to them. 
2. Finding jobs for them. 



THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 277 

Subject-matter that has a relation to successful work in these 
functions. 

II. I. The process of gathering data and studying a situation. 

The survey method. 
The qualifications for, requirements of, and processes 

of preparation for, the vocations open to men and 

boys. 
The aims and processes of education. 

2. The problems and solutions of education. 
The most successful teaching methods. 

3. The standard principles and methods of Association 

educational work. 
Advertising. Salesmanship. 



III. 1. The survey method. 



2. Modern charity and correction methods. 
Movements for social betterment. 
Problems of national development. 
The history of social institutions. 
Current problems and events. 

3. The incentives and problems of production, distribu- 

tion, and consumption. 

4. Welfare agencies of today. Their aims, methods, and 

programs. 

5. The teachings of Jesus as to individual and social life. 

6. The fundamental laws of life and the organic concep- 

tion of life. 

IV. 1. The theory and practice of systematic and recreative 
exercise. 
Health education. Hygiene. 
Sex education. 
2. Games and plays. 



V. 1. A knowledge of the vocations and their requirements, 
and how to size up men in relation to them. 
Vocational guidance. 



278 



TRAINING A STAFF 



The Functions of a 
YMCA Secretary. 

VI. Promotion. 



An analysis of these functions. 
Life situations of the secretary. 

VI. i. The devising and promotion of 
plans and agencies to carry 
out the purposes of the As- 
sociation. 

Enlisting men in these. 
2. Leadership in various enter- 
prises. 



VII. Executive Di- 
rection. 



VII. i. The organizing of a working 
force. 

2. The deputizing and super- 
vision of work. 

3. Conducting staff and group 
conferences. 



VIII. Business Man- VIII. 
agement. 



IX. Expertness in 
Association 
Technique. 



1. Administration of property 
and funds. 

2. Accounting for funds re- 
ceived and disbursed. 

3. The protection of the Asso- 
ciation from fraud, theft, li- 
ability, etc. 

4. The performance and super- 
vision of office work. 

5. Managing a dormitory and 
cafeteria. 

6. Operating and caring for a 
building. 

7. Erection of Association 
buildings. 

IX. 1. Planning Association fea- 
tures and activities, includ- 
ing all departments. 
Conferring with committees 
and secretaries as to policies 
and methods. 

2. Constructing, arranging, and 
using an Association build- 
ing. 

3. Relating the Association to 

the whole community. 



THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 279 

Subject-matter that has a relation to successful work in these 
functions. 

VI. I. How to plan and further wise enterprises. 
Financial organization and promotion. 
Preparation of prospect lists. 
Salesmanship. Advertising. 

2. Whom men follow and why. Psychology of lead- 
ership. 
Public speaking. 

VII. 1. Association, corporation, and other forms of organi- 
zation. 

2. Methods of handling work. 

3. The art of conferring. 



VIII. I. Taxation, insurance, contracts, agency, corporations, 
business methods, property, budgets. 

2. Double entry bookkeeping. 

3. Indemnity insurance. Business practice. 



4. General and Association office practice. 

5. Hotel and cafeteria management. 

6. Janitorial methods, care and cleaning. Association 

equipment. 

7. Building materials and plans. 



IX. 1. Association history, principles, methods, and litera- 
ture, including special programs, as thrift, the high 
school movement, and C. C. T. P. 



2. Construction, arrangement, and use of Association 

buildings. 

3. The community point of view. 



28o 



TRAINING A STAFF 



The Functions of a 
Y M C A Secretary. 



An analysis of these functions. 
Life situations of the secretary. 

4. Contact with local, state, na- 
tional, and world Association 
leaders. 

5. Promoting the Association 
idea, function, and message. 

6. Leadership in local and 
wider Association work. 

7. Acquaintance with all phases 
of Association work. 



X. Hospitality. 



XL Friendship. 



XII. Writing. 



X. 1. Sociability as host to visitors 
and members, daily and on 
public occasions. 

2. Providing and promoting 
social features and programs. 

3. Meeting men of all sorts and 
classes, entertaining them, 
and being entertained by 
them. 

XL 1. Occasions that call for kindly 
interest in many kinds of 
men and boys, and for help- 
fulness. 

2. Deep friendship with some. 

3. Personal evangelism through 
friendship. 

4. Advising men and boys on 
personal matters. 

XII. 1. Writing newspaper accounts 
of events and articles on 
various subjects. 

2. Publishing reports of work 
done. 

3. Preparing a prospectus. 



4. Preparing conference papers 
and reports, and technical 
publications. 



THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 281 

Subject-matter that has a relation to successful work in these 
functions. 

4. Current Association publications. 
Biographies of present and past leaders. 

5. Association principles and practice. 
Salesmanship. Advertising. Public speaking. 

6. All of the above. 

7. Railroad, college, industrial, rural work, etc. 

The problems of different groups of men and the As- 
sociation contribution to their solution. 

X. 1. Etiquette. Social customs and the manners of polite 
society. 

2. Social programs and entertainments. Bowling, bil- 

liards, checkers, chess, etc. 

3. Broad "general culture," including art, literature, his- 

tory, science, travel, and music. 
Wide reading and travel. 
The news of the day. 

XL 1. Biblical selections on service and brotherhood. 

Christian literature with inspiration and service con- 
tent. 

2. Literature on a mutual interest or hobby. 

3. The spirit and method of personal work. 

4. Biography. 



XII. 1. How to write newspaper stories. 

Elements of narrative, descriptive, and expository 
writing. Composition. 

2. Samples of good reports. 

Graphic methods of presenting facts. 

3. The facts about getting attention, decision, and 

action. 
Sample prospectuses. 

4. The art of exposition. 



282 TRAINING A STAFF 

The Functions of a An analysis of these functions. 

Y M C A Secretary. Life situations of the secretary. 

5. Writing letters. 

6. Preparing addresses. 

XIII. Public Speak- XIII. 1. Speaking of all sorts, at din- 

ing, ners, in church, at meetings, 

in shops, etc. 

2. Bible and other religious 
talks. 

3. Participation in public dis- 
cussion. 

XIV. Studying. XIV. 1. Studying to understand situa- 

tions and needs, analyzing 
them. Locating and defining 
problems, gathering and 
weighing data, devising and 
testing solutions. 
2. Studying for general person- 
al growth. 

XV. Representation. XV. 1. Representing, expressing, and 

embodying the ideals of the 
Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation. 
2. Embodying all-round Chris- 
tian manhood. A twentieth 
century Christian gentleman 
in physique, dress, religion, 
education, social life, eco- 
nomic life, and citizenship. 



THE CONTENT OF THE SECRETARYSHIP 283 

Subject-matter that has a relation to successful work in these 
functions. 

5. Correspondence, or letter writing, advertising, and 

salesmanship. 

6. General education. 

XIII. 1. How to outline and present ideas in public speech. 



2. The use of the Bible in public address. The Bible. 

3. Parliamentary law. 

XIV. 1. How to study, as outlined by Dewey, McMurry, and 
Miss Earhart. 



2. Book lists, such as "Helpful Reading" and book re- 
views, such as those in the weekly section of the 
New York Times. 

XV. 1. Association literature. 

The content of general education. 



2. Material on the personal life of the secretary. 
Rules for living in full health. 
Modern ethics and religious thought. 
Cultural subjects. Etiquette. 

American civil government. The principles of 
democracy. 



APPENDICES 



APPENDIX A 

A NATIONAL TRAINING 'POLICY FOR CHINA 

Report of the Commission on the Recruiting and Training of 
Secretaries* 

A. M. Guttery, Chairman 

Issued by the Secretarial Training Department of the National 
Committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations of China 

A. Principles 

In view of the facts that, to a movement like our own, strug- 
gling to be indigenous, there is no more important question before 
it than that of training; that trained native leadership in every 
phase of Association work is needed; and that this need grows 
ever more insistent as our work develops and expands, therefore: 

It is the judgment of this Commission that we must create this 
leadership by a comprehensive system of training based on the 
best principles and usages of the West adapted to local conditions 
and the genius of the Chinese people. 

We recommend the following principles for training work in 
China : 

/. The training system should produce a well-balanced secretary. 
I. Some of the qualities to be sought are: 
Physical vigor. 

Joyfulness and ease in social relationships. 
Energy and facility in the performance of various duties. 
Power of observation. 
Originality. 

A cultured personality. A trained mind. 
Knowledge of Association principles, history, and methods. 
A general religious education. 
Ability to teach the Bible. 
Powerful convictions and motives. 
Passion and ability for winning souls. 
Church loyalty. 

* This statement is a report presented to the Conference of Employed 
Officers of the Young Men's Christian Associations of China at Hang- 
chow in November, 1919, as modified and approved by that Conference. 
It is not an official expression of the policy of the National Committee. 

287 



288 TRAINING A STAFF 

2. All secretaries-in-training should receive training in general 
Association work and methods and in church work. Each secre- 
tary-in-training specializing in any department should take some 
training in at least one other department of Association work. 

II. Every secretary {Chinese and foreign) should be a trainer. 

i. He should consciously hold the attitude of trainer toward 
the staff which he directs. 

2. He should understand the practical principles of effective 
teaching by the project method. 

3. He should practice tactful, constructive criticism of his staff. 

4. He should himself be master of the things he ought to teach. 

5. In some respects, at least, he should be an example of what 
the student should become. 

6. He should seek to prepare those under him to take his job. 

7. He should be an inspiration to the members of his staff 
and their personal friend and adviser. 

777. All secretaries should be under a continuous system of train- 
ing. 

1. In order to secure the practical observance of this principle: 

(a) The authorities who direct training should be so identified 
with the employers of the secretaries that persistent force 
is given to training plans for secretaries of all grades, 
and 

(b) All organized groups of secretaries should be on a train- 
ing basis. 

2. The training system should provide for continuous oppor- 
tunities for study and advancement. 

3. The continued training of junior and senior secretaries should 
provide for: 

(a) Physical exercise. 

(b) Mental training, including the reading of current litera- 
ture — newspapers, magazines, etc. 

(c) Spiritual training. 

(d) Social growth. 

(e) Technical improvement. 

4. Advancement to larger responsibilities should be closely linked 
with the training system and no secretary however advanced in 
knowledge and experience should consider his training completed. 

5. We recommend that boards of directors should make such 
provisions on their budget and in their programs of work as will 
enable secretaries to gain the inspiration, encouragement, and in- 
crease of efficiency which are afforded by : A. A regular training 



APPENDIX A 289 

program in the local Association; B. Attendance at Association 
conferences, conventions, and special training events. 

6. We recommend: A. That a yearly inquiry be made of each 
secretary by the Secretarial Training Department covering the 
following subjects: 1. Physical exercise. 2. Books read. 
3. Church responsibilities. 4. Other training progress. B. That 
the main results of this inquiry be compiled and published to the 
Brotherhood in some detail. 

7. We recommend that the Senior Secretary of the International 
Committee in China be requested to devise means for checking up 
the examinations passed locally by men out of language school 
and planning a five years' course of study for every section of the 
country. 

IV. The employed staff of the Association should all be trainable. 

1. In general those who are taken into the employment of the 
Associations should have the possibilities of developing into cap- 
able secretaries. 

2. Employes should be ambitious to learn and to make lifelong 
successes as secretaries. 

3. Members of the staff should maintain a teachable attitude of 
mind. 

V. The problem and project method of training should be extended 

to cover the Held of Association activities. 
Studies of the activities of the Association Movement of China 
should be prepared, graded, tabulated, and then used in the train- 
ing system. The project method may be made to cover the field 
of activities and the best possible method adopted in each particu- 
lar problem. 

VI. All features of the training processes employed by the Asso- 

ciations in China should be coordinated and harmonised. 
This will include training work in all city and student Asso- 
ciations and the national office, national training centers, the Asso- 
ciation professional school, local, sectional, and national institutes, 
peripatetic study, fellowships in America, and reading work. 

VII. Recognizing that the Association and other Christian agen- 

cies should work unitedly, we recommend: 

A. That the Association place its facilities as far as possible at 
the service of the churches for the training of specialists in work 
for men and boys. 

B. That the Association shall not undertake any financial obliga- 
tion in connection with the training of specialists for the churches. 



290 TRAINING A STAFF 

VIII. In view of the requests for training from non-Christian 
agencies and in the desire to serve them we recommend: 

A. That the first emphasis be placed on training Christian lead- 
ership for the Association and the churches. 

B. That as far as practicable our facilities be utilized for the 
training of specialists in work for men and boys under other 
auspices. 

IX. We recommend that as a matter of policy it be considered 
unwise for the Young Men's Christian Association to grant schol- 
arships to young men who are prospective secretaries or who are 
secretaries-in-training to continue their studies or to take a regular 
course in a mission college or in any other institution for the pur- 
pose of securing a general or special education.' 

B. Training Center Plan 

We recommend that the conference express its indorsement of 
the action of the Executive of the National Committee at its meet- 
ing on April 7, 1919, when it provided for the establishment 
within the immediate future of National Training Centers in five 
different cities, and that we heartily support the provisions of the 
program. 

It is the interpretation of this Commission that the Training 
Center plan is naturally divided into two headings: 

(I) National Training Centers, or those Associations which are 
approved by and receive aid from the National Committee. 

(II) Local Training Centers, or all other Associations which 
employ secretaries. 

/. National Training Centers 

1. (a) A National Training Center should offer practical ex- 

perience along general and specialized lines under expert 
supervision. 

(b) It should provide courses of study which will equip the 
secretary-in-training for his work. 

i(c) It should offer opportunity for consultation with secre- 
taries who are specialists in all lines of Association 
activities and provide opportunities for discussion of As- 
sociation problems with groups of secretaries. 

i(d) It should stimulate the secretary's habit of reading the 
best books and magazines on Association work, on re- 
ligious education, and social work and especially those 
that will keep him abreast of the times with regard to 
all national and international questions. 

2, The National Training Centers should be all under the super- 



APPENDIX A 291 

vision of one man on the staff of the Secretarial Training De- 
partment whose duties should be: 

(a) To standardize the work of the different centers through- 

out the country. 

(b) To be an expert himself so that he can teach the teachers 
the method of training and demonstrate its use with the 
students. 

(c) To pass upon candidates for training after consultation 
with the secretary of the Secretarial Training Depart- 
ment and the general secretaries of the Training 
Centers. 

(d) To supervise examinations and the grading of secre- 
taries-in-training and report to the secretary of the Sec- 
retarial Training Department. 

(e) To handle all questions of finance relating to the devel- 
opment of the work, and, 

(f) To be responsible for all matters of business and promo- 
tion as the executive secretary of this division of the 
Secretarial Training Department. 

3. The general secretaries or the deans of the Training Centers 
should meet often enough for discussion of training methods and 
problems connected with the work to insure a natural and uniform 
progress with all of the centers naturally fitting into the national 
scheme. 

4. The following conditions should be considered as essential in 
any Association where a National Training Center is to be estab- 
lished : 

(a) In addition to having a general secretary specially quali- 
fied for training work who is committed to the training 
program, the staff shall contain specialists on boys' work, 
student work, and physical work, whose primary responsi- 
bility is to carry on regular and systematic training of 
secretaries. These men should have executive responsi- 
bilities in the local Association. 

(b) In view of the services rendered to the local Associa- 
tions by the specialists mentioned above, the boards of 
directors of those Associations should provide enough 
help on detail work to enable these men adequately to 
care for their training responsibilities. 

(c) Those men in charge of the training in a National 
Training Center should conduct their work in such a man- 
ner as to protect and preserve the efficiency of the staff 
of that Association, and the local Association should em- 
ploy a sufficient number of secretaries so that it will 



292 TRAINING A STAFF 

not depend upon secretaries-in-training, who receive their 
support through the National Committee or through some 
other Association, for the conduct of its regular work. 
5. Secretaries-in-training in a National Training Center should 
be treated as members of the staff of that Association and receive 
their allowances, whether from the National Committee or from 
any other source, through the regular channels of that Asso- 
ciation. 

In the case of sending a man for training to a National Training 
Center or calling a man away, the same courtesies should be ob- 
served to the authorities of that Association as would hold with 
respect to the other members of the staff, during the period of his 
training. 

The Association where the Training Center is being conducted is 
responsible for the training of each man to the National Committee 
or to the Association which supports him, and it is understood that 
when his period of training ceases or when his support is cut 
off he will pass under the control of the party responsible for his 
support. 

//. Local Training Centers. 

(a) The general secretary and his associates should avail them- 
selves of every opportunity to keep up to date on all the 
systems and methods of training as conducted by the Na- 
tional Secretarial Training Department, especially that 
division which deals with the Training Center scheme. 

(b) All junior secretaries and recruits on the staff should be 
considered as secretaries-in-training and the senior secre- 
taries should feel it their responsibility to direct their 
training. 

(c) The general secretaries should so arrange the work of the 
secretaries-in-training that they will have time free for 
study, observation of the work, and consultation with older 
secretaries. 

(d) The boards of directors and general secretaries should al- 
ways keep in mind the work of the Secretarial Training 
Department of the National Committee and plan to send 
their younger secretaries to the Training Institutes, to the 
Association Professional School, and to the National Train- 
ing Centers for additional training from time to time, and 
to take advantage of all opportunities which the National 
Committee offers for the training of secretaries. 

(e) The National Training Department should give recognition, 
guidance, and inspiration to the training work in all Asso- 



APPENDIX A 293 

ciations, and whenever requested should give examinations 
and ratings to secretaries in any Association. 

C. Association Professional School 

D. Institutes 

E. Peripatetic Study 

By peripatetic study is meant a study which can be done by one 
secretary going to several selected cities and making investiga- 
tions along a prescribed line, reporting regularly to a supervising 
secretary, or preferably by a class of four or five accompanied by 
a senior secretary who will confer with them daily on their 
investigations. 
I. Only secretaries with at least three years' experience should 
secure peripatetic scholarships, on condition that they be set 
free by their board for a minimum of three months (in- 
cluding traveling) to be spent in the study of not more 
than four or five Associations. 
II. The Secretarial Training Department, in consultation with the 
general secretary of the student, should select the Associa- 
tions to be studied and the method of study. 

F. Fellowships in America 

G. Reading 

H. System of Grades Leading to a Certificate 
I. Support of the Secretary-in-Training 
J. Recruiting and Trying Out 



APPENDIX B 

AN EXAMINATION IN ASSOCIATION PROGRESS AND 

PRINCIPLES USED BY JAY A. URICE AT THE 

SILVER BAY SUMMER SCHOOL 

AUGUST, 1919 

General Problem 

You have just gone to Salt Lake City to organize a Young Men's 
Christian Association. Various citizens come to you with the fol- 
lowing questions, which you are to answer. Write out your 
replies as fully as you deem necessary to meet the situation. 

1. A man brings the following questions: (a) 'Tell me about 
the first Y M C A. When and where was it started, and how did it 
happen to be organized?" (b) "What was the purpose in the 
minds of its organizers ?" Answer fully. 

2. A representative of the Mormon Church asks you, "Can I 
join your organization ?" Make your reply. 

3. The pastors of the Protestant evangelical churches invite you 
in and say, "We do not need another competing church," and ask 
you the following questions: (a) "In what way is your organiza- 
tion different from another church?" (b) "How do you expect 
to help us make our work more effective?" What would you say 
to them? 

4. You are asked, "Why do you wish to organize an Association 
in Salt Lake City, and what is the aim or objective of your work?" 
Answer fully. 

5. The superintendent of the public day and night schools and 
the director of public playgrounds say to you, "We do not see 
just how your work will be related to that which we are doing; in 
fact, we doubt whether your educational and recreative features 
are needed at all in this city." What would be your reply? 

6. In the Chamber of Commerce meeting a man rises .and says, 
"A man who joins the Chamber of Commerce agrees to unite in 
helping to promote the commercial welfare of our city. Your state- 
ment about the Association sounds all very well, but one of my 
friends who has seen the Y M C A elsewhere tells me that your 
organization appears only to run a clubhouse and any man may 
join who will pay for the privileges. We do not need another 
clubhouse, but we would welcome an organization which would 
set our young men to work to make the city better." What would, 
you tell him? 

294 



APPENDIX B 295 

7. A man with whom you have been talking about the purpose 
of your work asks, "What sort of activities will you conduct? On 
what basis do you determine what activities are necessary, and 
how do you determine the value of each?" Make your reply. 

8. The Chamber of Commerce investigates your proposition and 
asks you the following questions: (a) "Who will have responsibil- 
ity and authority for determining what the Association shall do in 
Salt Lake City?" (b) "You say you will have a staff of secre- 
tarial helpers. What will they do? Just why are secretaries nec- 
essary?" Make your reply. 

You may refer to any notes you have taken or to any of the text 
and reference books available in the solution of these problems. 
Each student will, however, work independently, not consulting 
with others, and will sign his paper as follows: "The above repre- 
sents my own individual work" — signed. * * * 



APPENDIX C 

SUGGESTIVE PROJECT STUDY OUTLINE— KITCHEN 
GARDENING* 

Project: Kitchen Gardening 

Object, Scale, and First Steps of Project 



Guiding Questions 

for Planning This 

Project 

I. Shall you grow 
vegetables ? 



2. Where shall you 
grow them? 



Guiding Questions 

for Studying and Understanding 

This Project 

(i) What are the advantages of a good 
home garden? 
i: 187-188; 5: 325; 13: 5-6; 16: 3- 
6, 8, 11; 25: 335; 27: 10, 12-16; 
39: 3, 490; 40: iff. 
(2) Could you sell part or all of your 
product outside the family? 

( 1 ) Where was the home garden last year ? 

A. How well did the vegetables grow 

in it? 

B. Was it large enough to supply the 

family, or were such vegetables 
as winter squashes and potatoes 
grown as field crops? 

(2) May it be desirable to change the lo- 

cation of a garden, or of the 
place of growing certain vege- 
tables in an old garden? 
A. What is "rotation," and its signifi- 
cance for vegetable growing? 
26: 13; 39: 493; 276: 32-34 

(3) Which way should the garden slope? 

26: 7 

(4) What soil is best for a garden? 

1: 188-189; 26; 7-8; 27: 22; 39: 19 
2if., 25-26, 2J 

♦Taken from "Vocational Agricultural Education by Home Proj- 
ects," by R. W. Stimson, pages 1 19-120, and used by permission of the 
publishers, the Macmillan Co. 

296 



APPENDIX C 297 

(5) May the garden vegetables be part of 

a field crop? How? Advantage? 
1:188 

(6) Is protection from the wind important? 

Why? 

39:i4 

(7) I s good drainage a necessity? Why? 

1: 189; 5: 91-02; 13: 9; 39: 26 

(8) On the whole, what may be considered 

the best location for a garden? 
1: 188; 5:235; 11:451; 13: 6; 2j\ 
20; 39: 12-14,491,492-493 

(9) Shall you grow vegetables under 

glass ? 
A. What are "hotbeds" and "cold- 
frames" for? Cost of construc- 
tion and operation? 

5: 236-237; 11: 483; 13: 12-15; 2 5' 
145 ; 39 : 355-356 ; 276 : 44-79 ; 747 : 
250-253; 876: 94-96 



APPENDIX D 

A Suggested Technical Library for a Y M C A Secretary 

Issued by the Secretarial Bureau of the International Committee 
(Bulletin Number 6 Revised) 

Requests frequently come to the Secretarial Bureau for a list of 
books which an Association secretary should read. The following 
list has been compiled to meet this need. We have in mind the 
requirements of a city Association secretary. The books on 
departmental methods are chosen as necessary to an understanding 
of the full scope of the Association's activities. 

We recommend that secretaries secure the books here listed as 
a technical library for the training of the staff and place them so 
that they will be available to every member of the employed force. 
Secretaries who have not created a technical library may well 
proceed to secure these books, one by one. Any book on the list 
can be secured from Association Press, 347 Madison Ave., New 
York City, though many of them are published by other houses. 
For a carefully prepared list of books on subjects less technically 
related to the Association than these, send 25c to Association 
Press for "Helpful Reading," by Jay A. Urice. 

I. History 

1. History of the North American Y M C A. Morse. $1.00 

2. A History of the YM C A. Vol. I. Doggett. 1.00 

3. Life of R. R. McBurney. Doggett. 1.25 

4. Life of Sir George Williams. Williams. 1.25 

5. An Outline of the History of the North American 

YMCA. Super. .50 

6. Association Data Visualized. Hodge. (Apply to author) 

7. My Life with Young Men. Morse. 3.50 

II. Principles and Organization 

1. Fundamental Principles and Tested Policies. Super. .50 

2. Year Book for the current year. 2.50 

3. Report of the Detroit International Convention 2.50 

4. What Is the YMCA? Ober. .03 

5. Constitution and By-Laws for a City YMCA .10 

6. The Association Secretaryship. Ober. -75 

7. The Secretaryship of the Y M C A. Soares, Coulter, 

Ober. .10 

298 



APPENDIX D 299 

8. Personal Qualifications of a Successful Employed Offi- 

cer. Colton. .05 

9. What Is a Secretary? Ober. .03 

III. Methods 

1. Religious Work. 

a. Religious Work for Men and Boys. .75 

b. Religious Interviews. .15 

c. Annual Survey of Religious Work. .35 

d. The Seven Laws of Teaching (Bible Classes). 

Gregory $1.00 

e. Outline Studies in the World Work of the 

Y M C A of the U. S. and Canada. Manley. . 35 

f. Using the Bible in Public Address. Davis. 1.25 

g. The Red Triangle in the Changing Nations. 

Wilder .75 

h. The Pupil and the Teacher. Weigle. 1. 00 

2. Educational Work. 

a. Association Educational Work. Hodge. 1.00 

b. Courses of Study. Hodge. .25 

c. What Is Education ? Moore 1.40 

d. Methods of Teaching. Charters. 1 . 32 

e. How to Study. McMurry. 1.75 

f . How to Teach. Stray er and Norsworthy. 1 . 80 

3. Physical Work. 

a Physical Education 1-5° 

b. The Body Builder. Brink. 1.00 

c. Army and Navy Athletic Handbook .50 

4. Social Work. 

a. Indoor Games and Socials for Boys. Baker. 1.15 

b. Social Activities for Men and Boys. Chesley. 1.25 

5. Boys' Work. 

a. Christian Citizenship Training Program (Pioneers 

and Comrades) — 

Handbook, .75 

Leaders' Manual, 1.00 

b. Adolescent Boyhood. Burr. 1.10 

c. Boyology. Gibson. 1.35 

d. Boy Behavior. Burger. 1.25 

e. The Boy and the Sunday School. Alexander. 1.50 

f. Profitable Vacations for Boys. Weaver. 1.00 

g. American Youth. Issued monthly. Per year, 2.00 
h. The Community and the YMCA. Ritchie. .90 
i. The Boy Problem. Forbash. 1.00 



300 TRAINING A STAFF 

6. Industrial Work. 

a. Among Industrial Workers. 1.25 

b. Special pamphlets on Industrial Work. Address 

Industrial Department International Committee. 
See list under "Industrial" in Association Press 
Catalog. Free 

7. Financial. 

Intensive Financial Campaigns. Ward .15 

8. Association Men. Issued monthly. Per year 2.00 

IV. Profitable Professional Reading. 

1. Character Building and Religious Books. 

a. The Jesus of History. Glover. 1.25 

b. Individual Work for Individuals. Trumbull. .90 

c. How to Deal with Temptation. Speer. .25 

d. The Fight for Character. King. .25 

e. The Bible and the Spade. Banks. 1.00 

f. The Meaning of Prayer. Fosdick. 1.15 

g. The New Testament in Modern Speech. Wey- 

mouth. 1.35 
h. Jesus in the Records. Sharman. 1.15 
i. The Theology of an Evolutionist. Abbott. 1.75 
j. The Main Points. Brown. 1.00 
k. Christian Life a Normal Experience. Weather- 
ford. 1. 00 
1. The New Testament — A New Translation. Mof- 

fatt. 1.50 

2. Religion in Social Action. 

a. The City Church and its Social Mission. Trawick. .75 

b. Christianizing the Social Order. Rauschenbusch. 2.00 

c. The Social Creed of the Churches. Ward. .60 

d. The Social Principles of Jesus. Rauschenbusch. 1.15 

3. Bible Reference Library. 

a. One Volume Dictionary of the Bible. Hastings. 7 . 00 

b. The One Volume Bible Commentary. Dummelow. 3.75 

c. Historical Bible, 6 volumes. Kent. (Per volume 

$1.50) 9- 00 



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